SpaceX given major boost for Starship launch schedule

SpaceX has so far completed eight launches of its mighty Starship rocket — the most powerful ever to fly — with two of them taking place this year.

Now the Elon Musk-led spaceflight company has permission to dramatically increase the number of annual Starship launches from its Starbase facility in Texas from five to 25.

Spotted by Space.com, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday released its final environmental assessment (EA) of Starship operations at Starbase.

Twenty-five Starship launches also means 25 landings of the first-stage Super Heavy booster at the same location. SpaceX has so far achieved three successful landings of the Super Heavy, performed using giant mechanical arms on the launch tower that secure the booster on its return, before it touches the ground. Once fully established, the system will allow SpaceX to reuse the Super Heavy booster in the same way that it reuses the first stage of its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, helping it to slash the cost of space missions. 

Notably, the FAA has also given the green light to 25 landings of the upper stage Starship spacecraft. Up to now, the Starship, when it’s been able to complete a mission, has splashed down in the Indian Ocean following deployment by the Super Heavy. But SpaceX is also planning to bring the Starship home to Starbase in future flight tests. Besides landing on Earth, the Starship is also designed to land on other celestial bodies such as the moon and possibly even Mars.

“After reviewing and analyzing this Final Tiered EA, including all available data and information on existing conditions and potential impacts, the FAA has determined that modifying SpaceX’s vehicle operator license supporting the increased launch and landing cadence of the Starship/Super Heavy launch vehicle would not significantly impact the quality of the human environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),” the FAA said in its just-released document titled Mitigated Finding of No Significant Impact and Record of Decision.

The FAA’s decision to allow up to 25 Starship launches per year was widely anticipated, as the agency’s draft environmental assessment released last November had already endorsed the increased flight rate.