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SpaceX’s highly anticipated second test flight of its Starship super heavy lift rocket is one step closer to liftoff from South Texas. On Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced the conclusion of its safety review.
The agency issued a temporary statement noting the this portion of the assessment wrapped up on Oct. 31. It describes the protection review as being “focused on issues that affect public health and safety of property.”
“It consists of evaluating the applicant’s safety organization, system safety processes, flight safety evaluation, and quantitative risk criteria for launch, reentry, and vehicle disposal,” the FAA stated.
The largest outstanding piece of the equation before the second integrated flight test is the environmental review, which is being done in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
On Oct. 5, the FAA sent its final biological assessment to FWS. The latter agency had as much as 30 days to review that document, but announced that it finished that review on Oct. 19 and reinitiated its formal Endangered Species Act consultation with the FAA.
That process is allotted 135 days by statute, but similarly with the biological assessment review, FWS stated on Oct. 26 that it does “not expect to take the total period of time.” Spaceflight Now reached out to FWS to see where the agency is in the method and is waiting to listen to back.
That 135 days breaks down into two fundamental buckets as a part of the agency’s “ESA Section 7 Consultation” process:
- Formal consultation (as much as 90 days)
- The period where the FAA and FWS “share information in regards to the proposed project and the species or critical habitat more likely to be affected.”
- Craft a biological opinion (as much as 45 days)
- “A biological opinion often includes conservation recommendations to further the recovery of listed species, and it may include reasonable and prudent measures, as needed, to reduce any ‘take’ of listed species.”
In a press release to Spaceflight Now on Tuesday, an FAA spokesperson said, “The environmental review is the last major element to finish before the FAA makes a license determination.”
Last week, SpaceX stacked Ship 25 with Booster 9 and conducted a wet dress rehearsal before unstacking the vehicle.
Vehicle is prepared for the second test flight of a totally integrated Starship, pending regulatory approval pic.twitter.com/9tC4yKecmw
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 25, 2023
“We’re prepared to conduct Starship’s second integrated test flight as soon as the top of this month, pending only FAA license approval, which incorporates the reviews of supporting agencies,” Gerstenmaier said in a written statement to a Senate subcommittee. “Critically, the vehicle has been able to fly since mid-September. The present regulatory process isn’t maintaining with the pace of innovation.”
Due to SpaceX’s iterative strategy of testing and flying, Gerstenmaier described IFT-2 as needed “in an effort to test critical systems need to satisfy NASA objectives.”
NASA’s Human Landing System Program can be eagerly awaiting this next launch to proceed the progress towards the version of Starship that can bring humans all the way down to the lunar surface on the Artemis 3 mission, targeting launch in December 2025.
“I can be remiss if I didn’t say we’re concerned in regards to the SpaceX schedule for HLS and the priority is that our critical path, even today, goes through these test flights,” said Lisa Watson-Morgan, the HLS program manager in an interview with Spaceflight Now. “And the rationale it goes through the test flights is due to SpaceX’s development approach, which I fully support and I actually cherish.”
Watson-Morgan said they’re hoping to see the ship-to-ship propellant transfer mission sometime in 2024.
“That’s our key. When that day happens, I’m gonna be like, whew!” Watson-Morgan said. “I do know we’ll get there.”
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