SpaceX Starship Receives FAA License to Launch Spacecraft—When is it Coming?

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 14 April 2023, 08:04 pm

SpaceX received its much-awaited final piece of the puzzle that will help expand its spaceflight program, and this is the "Commercial Space Transportation License" that it needs to fly the Starship. The Federal Aviation Authority gave the Texas-based company its needed approval for the upcoming launch that will take place next week.

The company immediately announced its first orbital launch proceedings to take place this Monday or Tuesday, with the world seeing the Starship and Super Heavy Booster rocket propelling towards the orbit.

SpaceX Starship Receives FAA License to Launch

The FAA's latest release centers on the launch license that grants SpaceX the clearance for its highly-anticipated first orbital test flight, with the Starship at its center. This delivers the approval that SpaceX needs for the spacecraft program, centering on both the Starship and the Super Heavy Booster rocket that will both be needed for the flight.

In a statement (via Stephen Clark), FAA claims that it is issuing a Vehicle Operator License for SpaceX on its Starship and Super Heavy.

"After a comprehensive license evaluation process, the FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy, payload, airspace integration and financial responsibility requirements. The license is valid for five years," said the FAA.

SpaceX will have the license to fly Starship and Super Heavy until April 14, 2028.

FAA statement on Super Heavy / Starship license: "After a comprehensive license evaluation process, the FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy, payload, airspace integration
and financial responsibility requirements. The license is valid for five years." pic.twitter.com/GmGTqhii9s
— Stephen Clark (@StephenClark1) April 14, 2023

SpaceX's Starship is Launching Early Next Week

SpaceX is quick to share this good news with the public, as well as the schedule of its upcoming Starship and Super Heavy full-stacked launch by early next week. The company is targeting Monday, April 17, with its launch window starting at 7 AM local time (12:00 UTC), and a backup date of Tuesday, April 18, and Wednesday, April 19.

Targeting as soon as Monday, April 17 for the first flight test of a fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Starbase in Texas → https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK pic.twitter.com/Ry25Uuvknh
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 14, 2023

It seems that SpaceX cannot wait for the Starship's launch, being that its featured rocket will further expand its space capabilities for a highly-reusable and long-journey hauler for space exploration.

SpaceX and its Starship Program

One of the most awaited launches for this year is for the Starship spacecraft to spread its wings and show the world its capabilities, power, and technology it developed for many years now. Last November 2022, NASA went as far as to say that the Starship may launch as early as December of the same year, claiming that it is ready for the feat.

The significant development of the Starship has been followed since its early days, and the public saw its capabilities to launch and dock back to SpaceX's launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

Back when it was still in the static fire engine tests, SpaceX saw that not all 33 Raptor engines strapped underneath the rocket fired, but the company assured the public that it would not be a problem for it, as it can reach orbit.

Despite the many setbacks to SpaceX's project, like one iconic environmental review in early 2022, the company is now cleared of all the obstacles it has to pass. FAA deemed the Starship and Super Heavy Booster to have met all the conditional needs of the license, now seeing a five-year validity to bringing its spacecraft to the cosmic heavens, any time and for any purpose they wish.