SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket just cleared a major hurdle on the way to its second-ever launch.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today (October 31) that it has completed its Starship safety review, which assesses the risks a launch could pose to public health and property.
However, there is one more regulatory box that needs to be checked before SpaceX can get a license for the next Starship launch.
“The FAA continues to work on the environmental review,” the agency wrote in an emailed statement today. “As part of its environmental review, the FAA is consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on an updated biological assessment under the Endangered Species Act. The FAA and USFWS must complete this consultation before the environmental review portion of the license evaluation is completed.”
Related: SpaceX refuels Starship in key test ahead of second ever flight (video, photos)
Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. It consists of two fully reusable elements – the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage – and stands nearly 400 feet (122 meters) tall when fully stacked.
The full-size vehicle has flown only once so far, on a test flight that launched April 20 from Starbase, SpaceX’s coastal facility in South Texas.
The goal of this mission was to send the spacecraft’s upper stage halfway around the world, with splashdown aimed at the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. But shortly after launch, Starship experienced several problems, including a failed separation of the two stages. As a result, the vehicle was intentionally detonated over the Gulf of Mexico.
The FAA soon initiated a mishap investigation, which was completed on September 8. However, the agency emphasized at the time that more work was needed before SpaceX could receive a license for launch number two.
“SpaceX must implement all corrective actions that impact public safety and apply for and receive a license change from the FAA that meets all safety, environmental and other applicable regulatory requirements before the next Starship launch,” the agency wrote at the time .
And as today’s FAA update notes, there is still much work to be done on the environmental side.
The ongoing review appears to be focused on the Potential impacts of a flood systemwhich SpaceX installed under Starbase’s orbital launch mount after the test flight in April.
The new system is intended to protect the mount from the destructive power of Super Heavy’s 33 Raptor engines, which was on full display on April 20: The Raptors blasted a large crater beneath the mount, raining down chunks of concrete and other debris on its Starbase and environment.
We should expect Starship to fly relatively soon after the environmental review is completed, assuming all goes well. SpaceX and its founder and CEO Elon Musk said that the latest vehicle had passed all pre-launch tests and was ready to go.