![The Starship vehicle is stacked and ready to go for its second test flight.](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/starship-800x450.jpg)
SpaceX
On Tuesday, SpaceX stacked its Starship rocket on top of a Super Heavy booster in South Texas, starting final preparations for a second launch attempt of the large vehicle.
After the stacking operations were complete, SpaceX founder Elon Musk posted on X, the location formerly often called Twitter, that “Starship is able to launch, awaiting FAA license approval.”
That caveat is a giant one since the Federal Aviation Administration continues to be reviewing paperwork and data from SpaceX concerning the first launch attempt of Starship in April 2023. That flight ended after about 90 seconds resulting from engine problems and other issues with the booster. The FAA has been reviewing data from that accident, including the environmental implications on the launch site and the delayed activation of the rocket’s flight termination system.
Following this accident, SpaceX prepared and submitted a “mishap investigation report” to the FAA. After reviewing the report, the FAA will discover corrective actions that the corporate must make ahead of its second test flight to make sure the security of individuals, property, and wildlife near the South Texas launch site, which is surrounded by wetlands and the Gulf of Mexico.
Asked for an update on the progress of this regulatory approval, an FAA spokesman said Wednesday morning that additional information could also be provided soon. If that’s the case, this story will probably be updated.
Tuesday’s stacking operations followed a period of frenetic activity on the South Texas launch site this summer to organize the bottom systems and rocket for a second launch attempt. Throughout the first flight in April, the dearth of a sound suppression system led to significant damage, including the rupture of concrete chunks from the launch pad that rained down debris for miles across the Starbase location in South Texas. SpaceX subsequently has built and tested a brand new water deluge and flame deflector beneath the Starship launch mount.
![There is now a water deluge system beneath the rocket to manage its considerable acoustic energy.](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/starship2-980x1309.jpg)
SpaceX
The corporate’s engineers have also worked to upgrade the interstage area between the first-stage rocket and upper-stage Starship vehicle. That is now called a “hot staging ring,” which theoretically will allow the Starship upper-stage engines to ignite before the Super Heavy first stage has accomplished its burn. It is a difficult maneuver, but when successful, it will increase the mass-to-orbit performance of the launch vehicle.
In recent weeks, SpaceX has also accomplished two hot fire tests of the rocket, Booster 9, in addition to tests of the Starship upper stage, Ship 25. The hardware has largely passed these tests.
Throughout the upcoming test flight, Starship will carry no payloads but will as an alternative seek to show the performance of the booster’s 33 Raptor rocket engines, stage separation, and ignition of Starship’s six engines. Under a nominal flight, Starship will complete nearly three-quarters of an orbit around Earth before splashing down within the Pacific Ocean, north of the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
The launch date is pending regulatory approval, but it surely is just not expected to occur before the center of September.