The FAA expects to complete its environmental evaluation of SpaceX's Starship by December 31.
SpaceX should be ready to finalise its preparations for an orbital launch of the Starship soon.
Tuesday, November 16, 2021 | Chimniii Desk
Key Highlights
- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States initiated an environmental review of SpaceX's orbital launch operations at Starbase, the company's facility near the South Texas community of Boca Chica, this summer.
- SpaceX wishes to execute the first-ever orbital test flight of a Starship vehicle from Starbase in the near future, but this cannot occur until the FAA assessment is completed.
- The review's schedule had been pretty imprecise, but the agency announced an estimated completion date on Monday (Nov. 15): Dec. 31, 2021.
- SpaceX is developing Starship, a spacecraft capable of transporting humans and cargo to the moon, Mars, and other far-flung locations.
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SpaceX's Starship deep-space transportation system's orbital launch chances should become clear in the near future.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States initiated an environmental review of SpaceX's orbital launch operations at Starbase, the company's facility near the South Texas community of Boca Chica, this summer.
SpaceX wishes to execute the first-ever orbital test flight of a Starship vehicle from Starbase in the near future, but this cannot occur until the FAA assessment is completed. The review's schedule had been pretty imprecise, but the agency announced an estimated completion date on Monday (Nov. 15): Dec. 31, 2021.
The announcement appeared to cheer SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, who has previously expressed opposition to FAA restrictions.
"We appreciate the efforts of the FAA, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and Texas Parks & Wildlife, as well as the strong local support from Cameron County and Brownsville/South Padre!" Musk stated on Monday through Twitter. (Starbase Cameron is located near Brownsville and South Padre Island.)
On Sept. 17, the FAA posted a draught review of the Starbase assessment and invited public feedback until Nov. 1. The agency revealed on Monday that it had received more than 17,000 written comments on the paper over this time period.
Additionally, the FAA held two public sessions via Zoom on the review on Oct. 18 and Oct. 20. According to FAA officials, the agency received 121 verbal remarks during those sessions.
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SpaceX is developing Starship, a spacecraft capable of transporting humans and cargo to the moon, Mars, and other far-flung locations. Indeed, if everything goes well, NASA people will ride Starship to the lunar surface in a few years; the agency just picked Starship as the initial human landing system for its Artemis crewed lunar exploration programme.
Starship is composed of two components, both of which are totally reusable: a massive first-stage booster named Super Heavy and a 165-foot-tall (50-meter-tall) spacecraft called Starship. Both will be propelled by SpaceX's next-generation Raptor engines, six in the case of Starship and around 30 in the case of Super Heavy.
Starship prototypes have already flown, albeit only to a height of around 6 miles (10 kilometres). And those flights were conducted using three-engine vehicles that lacked a first-stage booster. The forthcoming orbital test will utilise a six-engine Starship prototype dubbed SN20 as well as a Super Heavy equipped with 29 Raptors.
Shortly after liftoff, the Super Heavy, dubbed Booster 4, will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico. If all goes according to plan, SN20 will enter orbit and complete one circuit around the Earth before splashing down near the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
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