Starship launches to happen every other week at Texas Starbase launch site: FAA approves
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has now approved an increased number of annual launches by SpaceX at the Starbase launch site in South Texas. The decision to increase the launches was made after a lengthy review that changed the numbers from 5 to 25 annual launches and landings. This was in the final statement of a draft, released six months ago, as reported by ARS Technica. The document Mitigated Finding of No Significant Impact stated that this decision would not have any adverse impact on the quality of human life or cause any environmental disruption.
“The FAA has determined that modifying SpaceX’s vehicle operator license supporting the increased launch and landing cadence of the Starship/Super Heavy launch vehicle would not significantly impact the quality of the human environment,” the document, signed by Daniel P. Murray, executive director of the FAA’s Office of Operational Safety, mentioned. The review considered the increased use of trucks to deliver water and the propellants required for Starship launches. These were a few of the impacts assessed as part of months of environmental review.
The decision will allow SpaceX to perform Starship launches every two weeks from Starbase, a new city in Texas. SpaceX also has to meet all operational and safety conditions. The vehicle traffic for the launches would rise from around 6,000 to nearly 24,000 trips every year, as per Drive Tesla. Moreover, SpaceX will have to employ regulations such as employee shuttle programs and limiting water truck deliveries to daylight hours. It will ensure minimum disruption to local ecosystems as the FAA looks into all kinds of fish, wildlife, environmental impacts, and the resources of nearby communities.
The review found that increased consumption of water — an extra 10.27 million gallons annually — would be only 0.1% of Brownsville’s 2018 municipal water usage. As a community located near the launch site, this will not hinder their usual water functions and supply. Though an approval is in favor, the company has not confirmed the dates for the flight test of Falcon 9. They await a separate license for their next Starship mission, as the FAA is investigating the failure of the eighth Starship test flight on March 6, 2025, when the upper stage broke apart during flight.
SpaceX engineers are working on the rocket before it returns to flight after two consecutive failures. The Super Heavy “Booster 14” being discussed for the next test flight had a successful mission on the rocket’s seventh test flight in January 2025. The upper stage, “Ship 35,” underwent test firings, but any potential issues during this process were not revealed. If additional testing of this upper stage can pass the test, Starship can have a launch as early as May 19, as per ARS Technica. However, this date is only reflected in a notice to mariners and is not confirmed otherwise.
“By providing a reusable launch vehicle that returns to its launch site, the proposed action would reduce the cost of launch and increase efficiency, delivering greater access to space and enabling cost-effective delivery of cargo and people to the Moon and Mars,” the document also stated, as per Payload Space. Increased Starship launches for Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, come as a victory after the news of the launch site being revamped into a city.
