The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Oct 31 that the agency had completed the safety review of Starship/Super Heavy license evaluation that day. The safety review covers the portions of launch operations that affect public safety.

SpaceX Starship safety review by FAA

FAA said on Tuesday that they completed a SpaceX Starship safety review focused on how a Starship launch that could affect public health and property. SpaceX Starship safety review is for “safety organization, system safety processes, flight safety analysis, and quantitative risk criteria for launch, reentry, and vehicle disposal,” an FAA spokesperson said in a statement.

The updated SpaceX license is required for the next integrated Starship launch. The FAA, when it closed on Sep 8 the mishap investigation into the first Starship/Super Heavy launch in April, identified 63 corrective actions for SpaceX, of which 27 were related to public safety.

“One thing that we’ll need to see before the next operation is evidence that shows that the company has closed out the corrective actions that are specifically tied to public safety,” Kelvin Coleman, FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation, said in a Sept. 18 interview. He predicted then that the safety review would be completed by the end of October.

Safety review of Starship for license

The completion of the SpaceX Starship safety review, though, does not mean the FAA is ready to update the Starship launch license and allow another launch to proceed. The FAA is continuing to work on a Starship environmental review, including consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) regarding any environmental effects of a new water deluge system installed on the Starship launch pad at Boca Chica, Texas.

FWS, in an Oct 26 statement, said it had formally reinitiated an Endangered Species Act consultation with the FAA about modifications to the pad on Oct. 19. “We have up to 135 days to issue an amended biological opinion but do not expect to take the full amount of time,” FWS stated, but did not offer a more precise estimate of the time needed to complete the review.

Starship review for environment

The licensing process, both with the FAA and the environmental consultation with FWS, has been a source of frustration for SpaceX. “Starship has been ready for its next flight test for more than a month, but we are waiting for an FAA license and accompanying interagency review,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX vice president for build and flight reliability, at a hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee’s space subcommittee Oct 18.

He called for a faster review of license proposals, particularly for “projects of national interest,” a reference to Starship’s role as a lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration campaign.

“When it comes to projects of national interest, such as the Artemis program, Congress should establish a regulatory regime consistent with the national program’s objectives and schedules,” he said. Agencies supporting the FAA licensing process, “like those with environmental responsibilities, should also be required to complete their work consistent with the national program schedules.”

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