FAA Clears SpaceX Starship for Second Launch

Spencer Brown | November 16, 2023 12:30 PM

The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Wednesday that SpaceX's Starship/Super Heavy had received license authorization for a second launch after months of work by the Elon Musk-founded company to clear federal hurdles following the first launch's explosive end.

Here's the bureaucratic legalese from the FAA:

SpaceX applied to the FAA to modify its existing vehicle operator license for the operation of the Starship/Super Heavy launch vehicle from its existing Boca Chica Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas. The additional information in the application includes more detail about the operation of a deluge system, the addition of a forward heat shield interstage to the vehicle, and the expansion of the Area of Potential Effects for cultural resources. The FAA published a Written Re-evaluation that evaluates, based on this new information, whether supplemental environmental analysis is needed to support the FAA’s decision to modify SpaceX’s vehicle operator license.
Based on the Written Re-evaluation (WR), the FAA concluded that the proposed modification to the vehicle operator license for Starship/Super Heavy operations conforms to the prior environmental documentation, that the data contained in the 2022 Programmatic Environmental Assessment remains substantially valid, that there are no significant environmental changes, and all pertinent conditions and requirements of the prior approval have been met or will be met in the current action.
Therefore, the preparation of a supplemental or new environmental document is not necessary to support the Proposed Action.