FAA Delays SpaceX Starship Launch License Until November

SpaceX is pushing back hard on FAA delays, stating the licensing process has been “repeatedly derailed by issues ranging from the frivolous to the patently absurd.” SpaceX is fully ready for the next Starship’s test flight, known as Integrated Flight Test 5 (IFT-5). However, the Federal Aviation Administration didn’t hurry to provide the launch license, leaving SpaceX frustrated.

SpaceX was planning to launch in mid-September, but it now has to wait at least until November as US government approval will take months longer than initially expected.

 The Starship and Super Heavy vehicles for Flight 5 have been ready to launch since the first week of August, SpaceX announced previously. Also, on 19th August, SpaceX received the FCC approval.

No Starship Flight Until November, FAA Says

On Tuesday, September 10th, SpaceX published an update on its website criticizing the licencing process and bureaucracy.

During the Starship’s fifth flight, SpaceX planned to attempt to return the Super Heavy booster to the launch site and catch it in mid-air. According to the company’s latest statement, it might be the main reason for the FAA delays.

“It’s understandable that such a unique operation would require additional time to analyze from a licensing perspective,” SpaceX post follows. “Unfortunately, instead of focusing resources on critical safety analysis and collaborating on rational safeguards to protect both the public and the environment, the licensing process has been repeatedly derailed by issues ranging from the frivolous to the patently absurd.”

The company says that the licensing process has been repeatedly hindered by “the frivolous” and even “patently absurd” issues: “At times, these roadblocks have been driven by false and misleading reporting, built on bad-faith hysterics from online detractors or special interest groups who have presented poorly constructed science as fact.”

The FAA previously communicated a mid-September approval time frame, SpaceX said. They recently received a launch license date estimate of late November from the FAA, a more than two-month delay to the previously communicated date of mid-September. 

However, this delay was not caused by new security issues, but rather due to excessive environmental analysis, according to SpaceX. The four open environmental issues illustrate the difficulties startup companies face in the current regulatory environment for startup licensing and re-entry.