Starship gets FAA clearance to fly again, with SpaceX expanding hazard zones to enhance safety ahead of the next test flight
After consecutive explosions earlier this year, SpaceX has been permitted by the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct the ninth test flight of its Starship rocket system.
Based on a revised safety review by SpaceX, the government announced on Thursday that it is “expanding the size of hazard areas both in the U.S. and other countries” for the mission.
A wider hazard area resulted from the Starship vehicle mishaps on Flights 7 and 8, which increased the likelihood of the vehicle failing. The FAA creates “hazard areas,” which are short-term no-fly zones when there is a chance of collision with debris.
Around 1,600 nautical miles stretch eastward from Texas through the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos, where debris from the last two test flights landed, as part of the new hazard area the FAA has created.
The hazard area the FAA used for the most recent Starship test flight in March was about twice as large.
After the previous two Starship accidents led the FAA to reroute dozens of domestic and international flights, the agency said it also forces SpaceX to conduct the test flight during “non-peak” travel times.
SpaceX has been testing its Starship system for the past two years from the launch complex it constructed in southern Texas. Although CEO Elon Musk has stated that the system’s ultimate goal is to carry humans to Mars, Starship’s immediate goal is to enable SpaceX to put even more Starlink satellites into orbit around the planet.
Starship will also be used “to provide greater mission capability to NASA and the Department of Defense,” according to SpaceX.
SpaceX has launched Starlink satellites thus far using its reliable Falcon 9. Starlink is the primary focus of the majority of Falcon 9 launches nowadays.
Even though Starlink is already a highly sought-after internet provider, there may be an even greater need for launch capacity, given reports that the Trump administration is using the service as leverage in its numerous trade fights with other nations.
As a possible remedy for the FAA’s issues with the current air traffic control system, Musk has also reportedly assigned members of his Department of Government Efficiency to assist the agency in testing Starlink terminals.