The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted SpaceX the go-ahead for a ninth test flight of its Starship vehicle, following the mishap of the eighth test flight in early March, which concluded with an explosion.
In a statement released on Thursday, the FAA confirmed the results of a thorough safety review regarding the earlier incident. The agency noted that SpaceX has effectively addressed the underlying issues that led to the failure, allowing for the Starship vehicle to resume its flight activities.
The eighth flight, similar to the seventh in January, featured a successful separation from the Super Heavy booster rocket. This booster returned safely to the launch site at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, where it was captured by the launch tower. However, approximately nine minutes into the flight, the Starship began to tumble and ultimately exploded prior to its engine cutoff.
Past test flights have led to debris falling over Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas, prompting the FAA to occasionally halt and reroute flights, including imposing complete ground stops at certain Florida airports.
For the upcoming Flight 9, SpaceX plans to utilize a previously flown Super Heavy booster, specifically the one from Flight 7. In response, the FAA is expanding the Aircraft Hazard Area (AHA) for the flight. The AHA for Flight 8 was approximately 885 nautical miles, whereas for Flight 9 it will extend to nearly 1,600 nautical miles, encompassing regions of Texas and Florida, as well as parts of the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.
The FAA will also schedule the Flight 9 launch window during off-peak transit times to minimize disruptions for air traffic in both U.S. and international airspace.
The update comes after the FAA issued a revised launch license for SpaceX’s 9th test flight earlier in the month, allowing an increase in the company’s annual operations from five to as many as 25 flights at its Boca Chica facility.
Currently, the FAA has not appointed a new leader following the resignation of Michael Whitaker on January 20, amid disagreements with Elon Musk.
