The FAA is taking extra precautions for SpaceX’s next Starship test flight

SpaceX’s 9th Starship trial formation could instrumentality spot aboriginal adjacent week. | Image: SpaceX

Following the nonaccomplishment of the 8th Starship trial formation successful aboriginal March that ended successful another explosion, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has yet cleared SpaceX for a 9th trial which could instrumentality spot as soon arsenic adjacent week.

“The FAA conducted a broad information reappraisal of the SpaceX Starship Flight 8 mishap and determined that the institution has satisfactorily addressed the causes of the mishap, and therefore, the Starship conveyance tin instrumentality to flight,” the FAA said successful a statement released yesterday.

Similar to however SpaceX’s 7th Starship trial formation played out successful January, Flight 8 saw the vessel successfully abstracted from the Super Heavy booster rocket that returned to the motorboat tract astatine Starbase successful Boca Chica, Texas wherever it was caught by the motorboat tower. But astatine astir 9 minutes into its flight, Starship began to tumble and yet exploded earlier reaching its motor cutoff stage.

Previously failed trial flights resulted successful Starship debris raining down implicit Turks and Caicos and parts of the Bahamas. Although SpaceX has said the debris has been constricted to pre-planned Debris Response Areas, connected aggregate occasions the FAA has concisely slowed and diverted flights, and initiated afloat crushed stops astatine respective Florida airports.

SpaceX plans to reuse a antecedently launched Super Heavy booster rocket for the archetypal clip for Flight 9 – specifically the rocket from Flight 7. As a result, the FAA is expanding the Aircraft Hazard Area (AHA) arsenic an added information precaution. For Flight 8, the AHA covered astir 885 nautical miles. For Flight 9, it’s astir doubly the size astatine 1,600 nautical miles and covers parts of Texas and Florida, arsenic good arsenic the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.

In summation to expanding the hazard area, the FAA is besides requiring the Flight 9 motorboat model “to beryllium scheduled during non-peak transit periods” successful bid to “minimize disruption to U.S. and planetary airspace users.”

Thursday’s update follows the FAA’s determination to contented a motorboat licence earlier this period for SpaceX’s 9th Starship trial formation and modify the licence to grow the company’s yearly operations. “The support includes last enactment allowing SpaceX to summation Starship operations from 5 up to 25 per twelvemonth astatine Boca Chica, Texas.”

The FAA is inactive without a person aft Michael Whitaker stepped down arsenic its head connected January 20th following clashes with Elon Musk.