Tag: FAA
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SpaceX just got exactly what it wanted from the FAA for Texas Starship launches
A day after SpaceX launched its Starship rocket for the sixth time, the company received good news from the Federal Aviation Administration regarding future launch operations from its Starbase facility in South Texas. In a draft version of what is known as an “Environmental Assessment,” the FAA indicated that it will grant SpaceX permission to…
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Live coverage: SpaceX to attempt first booster catch during the Starship Flight 5 mission
SpaceX’s fully stacked Starship rocket stands atop the Orbital Launch Mount at Starbase in southern Texas. The Starship Flight 5 mission is poised to feature the first booster catch using the arms of the launch tower. Image: Will Robinson-Smith/Spaceflight Now Update 4:00 a.m. EDT: Because of poor weather off the coast of Florida, Crew Dragon…
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Starship Flight Five conducts Full-Stack Testing ahead of Launch
SpaceX has completed initial pre-launch testing of the Flight 5 Starship. However, the launch date currently remains over two months away due to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) noting they do not expect to issue the launch license until late November to early December comes around for launch. Since the beginning of this year, Ship…
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SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 return to flight mission
A Falcon 9 rocket streaks across the skies above Florida’s Space Coast during the Starlink 8-10 mission. This was SpaceX’s return to flight mission, following a failed booster landing on Wednesday. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update 4:04 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the mission and landed its first stage booster on its droneship, ‘Just Read the…
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SpaceX set a launch turnaround record with back-to-back, coast-to-coast Falcon 9 launches
File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX Update 5:06 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the mission and landed B1081 on the droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ Following its second return to flight mission in as many months with a Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX proceeded to set a…
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Although it’s not final, SpaceX just got good news from the FAA on Starbase
After SpaceX decided to launch orbital missions of its Starship rocket from Texas about five years ago, the company had to undergo a federal environmental review of the site to ensure it was safe to do so. As a part of this multi-year process, the Federal Aviation Administration completed a Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment in…
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Although it’s not final, SpaceX just got good news from the FAA on Starbase
After SpaceX decided to launch orbital missions of its Starship rocket from Texas about five years ago, the company had to undergo a federal environmental review of the site to ensure it was safe to do so. As a part of this multi-year process, the Federal Aviation Administration completed a Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment in…
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FAA, NASA seek public input on SpaceX Starship launches at the Kennedy Space Center
The Ship 29 upper stage of the fully integrated Starship rocket as seen before its fourth flight test on June 6, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now The Federal Aviation Administration is preparing to gather public input on SpaceX Starship launch operations at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The request for comments comes about a month after…
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News from the Press Site: New SpaceX spacesuits and China’s Chang’e 6 reaches orbit around the Moon
In this week’s edition of News from the Press Site, Spaceflight Now’s Will Robinson-Smith is joined by Jeff Foust, senior writer at Space News, and Bill Harwood, space consultant for CBS News. The panel discusses the upcoming valve work being done to ready ULA’s Atlas V rocket for the Starliner Crew Flight Test, China’s Chang’e…
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SpaceX seeks a waiver to launch Starship “at least” nine times this year
As SpaceX nears its first Starship launch of 2024—possibly as soon as within three weeks—from its Starbase facility in South Texas, the company is pressing regulators to increase its cadence of flights. During a press availability this week, the administrator for Commercial Space Transportation at the Federal Aviation Administration, Kelvin Coleman, said the agency is…