The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released an updated version of a draft environmental assessment that would permit SpaceX to increase the tempo of Starship launches and landings at the company’s Starbase test site at Boca Chica, Texas.
The agency is preparing to permit SpaceX to increase activity at Starbase to 25 launches and 25 landings annually. The current licence allows five launches and landings annually. SpaceX has conducted six Starship launches to date, including two in the last two months. However, it wants to significantly ramp up operations as it readies the Starship for crew and cargo trips to the Moon.
The draft assessment did not explicitly endorse more launches, but neither did the FAA raise any objections to approving them. US outlets are widely reporting that an approval is more likely than not.
“I would not be surprised if we fly 400 Starship launches in the next four years,” SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell told an investment conference earlier this month. She said SpaceX is planning to steadily replace its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches with Starship missions in the coming years.
Sixth Starship launch a success
SpaceX launched its 122-metre-tall Starship rocket for the sixth time in front of President-Elect Donald Trump. The launch was a success. However, SpaceX decided not to try to capture the returning booster at the launch pad, instead bringing it back to Earth over the Gulf of Mexico. It has since emerged that the lift-off process slightly damaged the launch tower. This caused SpaceX to jettison plans for a second go at grabbing the booster on its return with the launch tower’s mechanical arms
“(The) FAA has concluded that the modification of SpaceX’s existing vehicle operator license for Starship/Super Heavy operations conforms to the prior environmental documentation, consistent with the data contained in the 2022 PEA, that there are no significant environmental changes, and all pertinent conditions and requirements of the prior approval have been met or will be in the current action,” the conclusion of the updated draft assessment reads.
SpaceX abandons plans for land swap at Boca Chica
The FAA will open a public comment period on the additional Starship launches and landings that will close in mid-January. It will also hold public meetings in Texas to gauge community feedback. SpaceX’s activities in Texas are not without some controversy, with some local community groups saying the company’s activities there pose risks to local wildlife and coastal ecosystems.
In September, SpaceX quietly dropped plans to expand its Boca Chica facility by 43 acres by acquiring part of a state park. SpaceX Vice President Sheila McCorkle told the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in a letter that the company “is no longer interested in pursuing the specific arrangement.”
The deal would have seen SpaceX acquire that land in exchange for handing over 477 acres of its land near Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, further away from the facility.
SpaceX is finishing 2024 on a high. It is now making multiple Falcon launches most weeks. It stepped in to rescue stranded NASA astronauts after Boeing’s would-be competitor, Starliner, did not successfully complete its first crewed test flight in June. SpaceX’s founder and CEO Elon Musk is also close to Trump, who took a keen interest in the US space programme during his previous administration.
“Starship obsoletes Falcon 9 and the Dragon capsule,” said Shotwell. “Ultimately, people are going to want to fly on Starship. It’s bigger. It’s more comfortable, and it will be less expensive.”
