SpaceX says regulators will keep Starship grounded until at least November
Enlarge / Artist's illustration of catch arms ensnaring SpaceX's Super Heavy booster. (credit: SpaceX)
The Federal Aviation Administration has signaled to SpaceX that it won't approve a launch license for the next test flight of the Starship rocket until at least late November, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
This is more than two months later than the mid-September timeframe the FAA previously targeted for determining whether to approve a launch license for the next Starship flight. SpaceX says the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage for the next launch-the fifth full-scale test flight of the Starship program-have been ready to launch since the first week of August.
"The flight test will include our most ambitious objective yet: attempt to return the Super Heavy booster to the launch site and catch it in mid-air," SpaceX said in a statement.