logo
FAA allows SpaceX Starship's next flight, expands debris hazard zones

FAA allows SpaceX Starship's next flight, expands debris hazard zones

Yahoo22-05-2025
By Joey Roulette
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday said it approved SpaceX's Starship to return to flight after its explosive test failure in March, allowing Elon Musk's space company to launch from Texas as soon as next week after redrawing hazard zones along the rocket's flight path.
SpaceX's Starship, a 400-foot-tall (122 meter) rocket poised to play a central role in the U.S. space program, had a rare spate of back-to-back testing failures this year, diverting dozens of commercial flights and prompting complaints from other countries affected by Starship debris.
The FAA said in a statement approving Starship's next flight that it was in "close contact and collaboration" with the United Kingdom, Turks and Caicos Islands, Bahamas, Mexico and Cuba - where Starship flies over or near on its path to space - as it monitors SpaceX's regulatory compliance in future flights.
Debris from Starship's last two testing explosions - one in January and another in March - rained over Turks and Caicos, a British overseas territory, and portions of the Caribbean, rankling residents and triggering cleanup efforts by SpaceX staff and local authorities.
The FAA expanded a predetermined keep-out zone, or Aircraft Hazard Area, on Starship's flight path from 885 nautical miles to 1,600 nautical miles, extending eastward from SpaceX's launch site on the southern Texas coast and through the Straits of Florida, including the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.
"With the Starship vehicle return to flight determination, Starship Flight 9 is authorized for launch," the FAA, which oversees commercial rocket launch safety, said. "The FAA finds SpaceX meets all of the rigorous safety, environmental and other licensing requirements."
The FAA said it expanded the size of hazard areas over the U.S. and other countries along Starship's trajectory to space based on an updated flight safety analysis, a complex mathematical calculation that heavily factors probabilities of vehicle failure and expected public casualties.
The hazard zones were also expanded, the FAA said, because SpaceX plans to reuse a Starship booster for the first time during its ninth test flight, a key demonstration in the company's goal to make Starship rapidly reusable.
The next flight could occur on Tuesday, May 27, according to government airspace notices, though that date could change based on weather and SpaceX's technical readiness.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

NASA crew readies for ISS mission launch on Thursday
NASA crew readies for ISS mission launch on Thursday

Miami Herald

timea few seconds ago

  • Miami Herald

NASA crew readies for ISS mission launch on Thursday

July 26 (UPI) -- An international crew of four is readying for Thursday's planned launch of a NASA mission to the International Space Station after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency specialist Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will travel from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A to the ISS while aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour. Cardman is the mission's leader. The crew landed at Space Florida's Launch and Landing Facility at 1:12 EDT after leaving from Houston on Saturday morning. "We are absolutely joyed to be here at Kennedy Space Center," Cardman said upon the crew's landing. "This is the first moment when it's really starting to feel real," she said. "This is the beginning of a week when things will feel progressively more and more real as we approach our launch." Mission pilot Fincke said the mission gives him another chance to fly aboard a spacecraft named Endeavour. "One of the last times I landed at the [Florida launch and landing facility] was on space shuttle Endeavour," Fincke told media. "Now we get to go on another endeavor - a Dragon Endeavour," he said. The Endeavour name honors the HMS Endeavour, which British Capt. James Cook used to explore and chart the South Pacific from 1768 to 1771. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will deliver the Endeavor into low Earth orbit, which will make the Crew Dragon spacecraft the most flown among SpaceX's fleet. Thursday's launch is scheduled at 12:09 p.m. EDT and would enable the Endeavor to dock at the ISS on Aug. 2 if the launch occurs as planned. The four crew members will join Expedition 73, which already is at the ISS. An Expedition 74 crew is scheduled to replace the Expedition 73 crew while the Crew 11 team is at the ISS. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NASA crew readies for ISS mission launch on Thursday
NASA crew readies for ISS mission launch on Thursday

Yahoo

time29 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

NASA crew readies for ISS mission launch on Thursday

July 26 (UPI) -- An international crew of four is readying for Thursday's planned launch of a NASA mission to the International Space Station after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency specialist Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will travel from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A to the ISS while aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour. Cardman is the mission's leader. The crew landed at Space Florida's Launch and Landing Facility at 1:12 EDT after leaving from Houston on Saturday morning. "We are absolutely joyed to be here at Kennedy Space Center," Cardman said upon the crew's landing. "This is the first moment when it's really starting to feel real," she said. "This is the beginning of a week when things will feel progressively more and more real as we approach our launch." Mission pilot Fincke said the mission gives him another chance to fly aboard a spacecraft named Endeavour. "One of the last times I landed at the [Florida launch and landing facility] was on space shuttle Endeavour," Fincke told media. "Now we get to go on another endeavor - a Dragon Endeavour," he said. The Endeavour name honors the HMS Endeavour, which British Capt. James Cook used to explore and chart the South Pacific from 1768 to 1771. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will deliver the Endeavor into low Earth orbit, which will make the Crew Dragon spacecraft the most flown among SpaceX's fleet. Thursday's launch is scheduled at 12:09 p.m. EDT and would enable the Endeavor to dock at the ISS on Aug. 2 if the launch occurs as planned. The four crew members will join Expedition 73, which already is at the ISS. An Expedition 74 crew is scheduled to replace the Expedition 73 crew while the Crew 11 team is at the ISS. Solve the daily Crossword

NASA crew readies for ISS mission launch on Thursday
NASA crew readies for ISS mission launch on Thursday

UPI

time31 minutes ago

  • UPI

NASA crew readies for ISS mission launch on Thursday

1 of 5 | NASA Crew 11 Commander Zena Cardman addresses media after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo July 26 (UPI) -- An international crew of four is readying for Thursday's planned launch of a NASA mission to the International Space Station after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency specialist Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will travel from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A to the ISS while aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour. Cardman is the mission's leader. The crew landed at Space Florida's Launch and Landing Facility at 1:12 EDT after leaving from Houston on Saturday morning. "We are absolutely joyed to be here at Kennedy Space Center," Cardman said upon the crew's landing. "This is the first moment when it's really starting to feel real," she said. "This is the beginning of a week when things will feel progressively more and more real as we approach our launch." Mission pilot Fincke said the mission gives him another chance to fly aboard a spacecraft named Endeavour. "One of the last times I landed at the [Florida launch and landing facility] was on space shuttle Endeavour," Fincke told media. "Now we get to go on another endeavor - a Dragon Endeavour," he said. The Endeavour name honors the HMS Endeavour, which British Capt. James Cook used to explore and chart the South Pacific from 1768 to 1771. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will deliver the Endeavor into low Earth orbit, which will make the Crew Dragon spacecraft the most flown among SpaceX's fleet. Thursday's launch is scheduled at 12:09 p.m. EDT and would enable the Endeavor to dock at the ISS on Aug. 2 if the launch occurs as planned. The four crew members will join Expedition 73, which already is at the ISS. An Expedition 74 crew is scheduled to replace the Expedition 73 crew while the Crew 11 team is at the ISS.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store