{"id":21598,"date":"2024-09-20T00:56:36","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T16:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/why-hasnt-starship-launched-again\/"},"modified":"2024-09-20T00:56:36","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T16:56:36","slug":"why-hasnt-starship-launched-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/why-hasnt-starship-launched-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Why hasn\u2019t Starship launched again?"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"img-border featured-image\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/09\/LA7C3208.jpg?quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1600\" class=\"skip-lazy wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/09\/LA7C3208.jpg?w=320&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 320w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/09\/LA7C3208.jpg?w=640&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/09\/LA7C3208.jpg?w=1024&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/09\/LA7C3208.jpg?w=1500&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 1500w\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-attachment-id=\"41409\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/2024\/09\/05\/spacex-prepares-launch-pad-for-starship-booster-catch\/la7c3208-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/09\/LA7C3208.jpg?quality=82&amp;strip=all\" data-orig-size=\"2000,1000\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"Starship full stack sunset\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\n\n<p>Image: Seth Kurkowski \/ Space Explored<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/09\/LA7C3208.jpg?quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024&#8243;><figcaption>\n\t\t\t\tImage: Seth Kurkowski \/ Space Explored\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s been over three months since Starship last flew a rather successful mission from South Texas. In what was a big breakthrough in the red tape, SpaceX was granted a multi-launch contract, so where are the launches?<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-41473\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ve been long-waiting what is expected to be one of the most insane launches in recent history out of Starbase, Texas, SpaceX\u2019s Starship development facility. The launch will be Starship\u2019s fifth fully integrated launch and feature the attempted return and catch of its Super Heavy booster.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SpaceX says that the flight hardware for Flight 5 has been ready for over a month now. Which, if you\u2019re an avid watcher of NASASpaceflight\u2019s coverage of Starbase, you\u2019ll know from neither stage moving much recently. However, you\u2019ll also notice SpaceX has been making large amounts of modifications to its launch tower.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SpaceX placed the blame for why Starship has remained on the ground on the FAA, as it believes it\u2019s chasing \u201cfrivolous\u201d environmental concerns.<\/p>\n<p>\t<span class=\"outbrain-ad-label\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<script type=\"text\/plain\">\n\t\t\twindow.adSlotsConfig = window.adSlotsConfig || [];<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tadSlotsConfig.push( {\n\t\t\t\tslotID: '\/1049447\/Outbrain',\n\t\t\t\tslotName: 'div-gpt-ad-outbrain-ad-41473',\n\t\t\t\tsizes: [300, 250],\n\t\t\t\tslotPosition: 'mid_article'\n\t\t\t} );\n\t\t<\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SpaceX says there are two holds that the FAA has placed 60-day reviews with various federal agencies before it can sign off on the next launch. The first has to do with the splashdown location of the booster\u2019s hot stage ring and the second being the launch tower\u2019s deluge system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because of these environmental reviews, the FAA has stated that the launch of Starship flight 5 can be no earlier than late November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last month CNBC reported that SpaceX was fined for illegal wastewater discharge from its Starbase deluge system. The company has staunchly denied it did so and that it was given permission for the dump. However, SpaceX has yet to provide proof of a permit being approved by Texas authorities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new concern, shared in last week\u2019s strongly worded protest to these reviews, is the hot ring splashdown location. An interim change to the booster was the addition of a hot stage adapter ring. This provides more separation between the engines and the top of the Super Heavy booster, as well as venting ports for the exhaust. This is detached before Super Heavy returns to the surface.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SpaceX claims the change is minor, but because it is different, the FAA wants a consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service. The FAA is consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the deluge system concerns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So why can\u2019t SpaceX use its multi-launch license it received for Flight 4? Well, that\u2019s because that was only for that specific launch trajectory, ditching Starship\u2019s upper stage in the Indian Ocean and the booster in the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SpaceX hasn\u2019t shared what its plans are for Starship\u2019s upper stage, but we know for a fact they want to attempt a catch of the booster. This new trajectory requires new approval from the FAA.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So is SpaceX right in its complaint that the FAA takes too long to approve launch requests? Even the FAA agrees its space division is understaffed and if Starship can\u2019t get launching quicker and quicker each time, NASA\u2019s Artemis program\u2019s timeline is even more in jeopardy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, this is the FAA\u2019s job, and they\u2019re tied to Congress for how much funding it gets to expand its space division\u2019s team. This is not a new issue but has been a point of concern for several years now, so maybe it\u2019s time to give your congressman and senator a call, instead of complaining on X.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21598"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21598\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}