FAA clears SpaceX to launch second Starship flight

FAA clears SpaceX to launch second Starship flight


The SpaceX Starship lifts off from the launchpad during a flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on April 20, 2023. 

Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images

The Federal Aviation Administration has cleared Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch the second spaceflight attempt of its towering Starship rocket, the agency said Wednesday.

SpaceX posted on the social media platform X shortly after the greenlight that it was “targeting Friday, November 17 for Starship’s second flight test.”

A two-hour launch window will begin at 8 a.m. ET. SpaceX plans to livestream the Starship launch, with a webcast beginning about 30 minutes before lift off.

Starship first launched in April, achieving flight for a few minutes before exploding mid-air, severely damaging the ground infrastructure and raising environmental concerns. The FAA in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched a safety review prior to issuing a new flight license for the second attempt.

FWS determined that the rocket launch and subsequent explosion had no long-term negative effects on the surrounding ecology, according to an agency report released Wednesday. Still, SpaceX will help mitigate damage to the area by reducing sound waves and vibrations, assisting in fire suppression, and providing launch pad protection, the agency said.

As a result, “the FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy and financial responsibility requirements,” the agency said in a statement Wednesday.

Starship is critical to NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon and to SpaceX’s own goals in the launch and satellite markets, representing significantly more launch capability than any rocket currently on the market.

Musk has in recent years shifted personnel and priorities to the rocket’s Starbase development facility in Texas to get the vehicle off the ground.

— CNBC’s Michael Sheetz contributed to this report.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.



Source

Why it’s getting even harder to get into airport lounges now
Business

Why it’s getting even harder to get into airport lounges now

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Airplane tickets are getting cheaper, but it’s getting more expensive to bring your family to an airport lounge. Capital One is the latest company to limit access to booming airport lounges to combat overcrowding. Starting Feb. 1, Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders will no longer be able […]

Read More
Slate Auto: Inside the EV startup, stealth production facility backed by Jeff Bezos
Business

Slate Auto: Inside the EV startup, stealth production facility backed by Jeff Bezos

Slate Auto electric vehicles inside the startup’s beta production facility in Lake Orion Township, Michigan. Slate Auto LAKE ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. — In a nondescript supplier park in suburban Detroit, an electric vehicle startup backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is building what it hopes will be America’s newest automaker. The facility is filled with […]

Read More
Used vehicle prices ease from tariff fear-buying highs but remain elevated
Business

Used vehicle prices ease from tariff fear-buying highs but remain elevated

A Ford mustang is seen at a used car dealership in Montebello, California on May 5, 2025. Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images DETROIT — Used vehicle prices last month eased from their recent high in April as consumers who may have needed a vehicle but feared price hikes due to tariffs flocked […]

Read More