After several delays regarding the environmental review of SpaceX's Starship rocket program in Texas, the company is optimistic they are going to receive a piece of good news from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at the end of May.
A license from the FAA is needed by SpaceX to conduct further Starship flight tests and begin operational launches from its private facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
According to CNBC, the FAA began its environmental review in November 2020 but delayed making a decision three previous times in the past five months, from Dec. 31 to Feb. 28 to March 28 to April 29. And now moves the release of the assessment on May 31.
Space X Is Expecting To Finally Complete PEA
SpaceX is expecting the FAA to finally complete its long-running environmental review, known as the Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA).
According to Digital Trends, the assessment will determine whether the first orbital test flight of the Starship can take place from SpaceX's Starbase launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
The PEA is conducted to check if a proposed launch endangers public safety in any way. The assessment also looks into any issues linked to national security and any potential environmental impact, among other factors.
As part of the procedure of the environmental review, the administration invites members of the public to submit their views regarding SpaceX's launch request. Part of the reason for the delays is the huge response.
"The FAA is working toward issuing the final Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) ... SpaceX made multiple changes to its application that require additional FAA analysis. The agency continues to review around 18,000 general public comments," the FAA regulator said in a statement, as cited by CNBC.
Reasoning out that the agency simply needed more time to wrap things up, the FAA has already moved the review's completion date several times. The most recent delay came at the end of April when it set a new completion date to May 31.
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FAA Is Finalizing the Environmental Review
"The FAA is finalizing the review of the Final PEA, including responding to comments and ensuring consistency with SpaceX's licensing application," FAA said in a statement issued last month when it said it couldn't meet the April 29 deadline.
"The FAA is also completing consultation and confirming mitigations for the proposed SpaceX operations. All consultations must be complete before the FAA can issue the Final PEA," the agency added further.
The Starship vehicle, which comprises the Starship upper stage and Super Heavy first stage, could embark on its first orbital test flight in the next month or two if the FAA would give the green light for the launch from Boca Chica, as per Digital Trends' report.
But the Starship will likely be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida if the FAA rejects SpaceX's request to launch from the site. This would mean further delay to the launch as the vehicle would need to be transported at a distance of around 1,000 miles.
When it eventually gets off the ground, the Starship will be the most powerful rocket ever launched. According to Digital Trends, NASA is looking forward to deploying the system for astronaut missions to the moon, Mars, and possibly beyond.
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