Due to regulatory issues, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has put a brake on SpaceX’s Starship launches for some time.
Starship’s Flight 5 orbital launch and booster landing catch test is pending a license from the FAA and it’s expected in November at the earliest.
Delays in Starship flights have created a rift between SpaceX and the FAA. SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk think that the regulatory authority has not been fair in granting flight licenses. At the same time, the FAA says there have been lapses in following compliance guidelines.
The FAA fines SpaceX
On Tuesday 17th September, the FAA proposed a fine of $633,009 in civil penalties against SpaceX. On the other hand, Elon Musk threatened to sue the FAA for regulatory overreach.
The FAA-proposed fines on SpaceX in this notice are related to two missions conducted from Florida in 2023. According to the FAA, during the PSN SATRIA mission, SpaceX used an unapproved launch control room at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This has resulted in a fine of $350,000 fine as there were two separate violations during this mission evaluated by the authority.
“The FAA is proposing $350,000 in civil penalties ($175,000 for each alleged violation),” the regulatory authority wrote in its proposal.
The other set of safety violations deemed by the FAA were made during the EchoStar XXIV/Jupiter mission on July 28, 2023 (at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida). SpaceX used the unapproved rocket propellant farm for this mission, FAA said in its proposal. A civil penalty of $283,009 is proposed by the aviation and spaceflight regulatory authority for this mistake.
Combined, these two penalties are worth $633,009 in fines to SpaceX. The FAA has given 30 days to SpaceX to get back with a response to clarify its stance on the alleged violations and proposed fitness.
Flight 5 Delays, Flight 6 Static Fire Test
As we’ve noted above, the earliest SpaceX can get the Starship Flight 5 license is November. Both the rocket booster (Booster 12/B12) and Starship 30 (Ship 30) have already been declared ready for flight for more than a month now.
“Flight 5 is built and ready to fly,” Musk reiterated on X (Twitter). “Flight 6 will be ready to fly before Flight 5 even gets approved by FAA!” he added.
On Wednesday, September 18, SpaceX conducted a static fire test on Flight 6 Starship (2nd stage / Ship 31) at Starbase, Texas. This was the first static fire test performed on Ship 31 after its 3rd cryogenic pressure-proof test performed in July.
SpaceX is constantly progressing on flight test milestones one after the other to shorten the timeline when Starship is ready to launch for Mars. Regulatory approvals are becoming the main hurdle as SpaceX is becoming efficient in production and testing with each passing day.
A good sign is that SpaceX is not stopping its work on the next Starship prototypes and construction at the Starbase launch site even after flight delays. New ships are continuously getting in-line for future launches.
Stay tuned as we uncover the events leading to Starship’s Flight 5 and beyond.
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