Space
SpaceX Says Starship Launch License Delayed to November
- Company calls out FAA’s lengthy launch approval process
- Starship rocket key for SpaceX missions to moon and beyond
The SpaceX Starship ahead of a flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, in April 2023.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
SpaceX is openly criticizing what it sees as unacceptable delays in the licensing process for the next launch of its Starship rocket, saying US government approval is going to take months longer than it originally expected.
In a lengthy update posted on its website Tuesday, SpaceX said it expects to receive a license from the Federal Aviation Administration in late November to launch the fifth test flight of its Starship rocket. The FAA previously communicated a mid-September approval time frame, SpaceX said.