Elon Musk's Space exploration company SpaceX was handed a major boost by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration or FAA as SpaceX's Texas Starship launch was approved by the agency.
What Happened: Following the approval, the launch could take place as soon as May 27, 2025, depending on weather and SpaceX's preparations, from the company's launch site in Texas, Reuters reported on Thursday.
The agency has redrawn hazard zones for the rocket's flight path, which had experienced back-to-back failures earlier this year, from 800 nautical miles to 1,600 nautical miles, the report suggests.
Debris from the 400-foot-tall rocket's previous launches had fallen over Turks and Caicos as well as parts of the Caribbean. The FAA said it’s working closely with the UK, Mexico, the Bahamas, Cuba, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
"With the Starship vehicle return to flight determination, Starship Flight 9 is authorized for launch, the FAA finds SpaceX meets all of the rigorous safety, environmental and other licensing requirements," the agency said in its statement.
Why It Matters: Starship's approval comes in when Musk has been pushing for more progress and innovation in the sector in his pursuit to set up a colony on Mars. Recently, the billionaire shared how "Earth only has about 10% more life in it before it gets so hot that life is impossible."
SpaceX had previously gotten approval from the FAA to scale up Starship launches by the FAA from 5 to 25. However, the agency had laid down some conditions for the company to follow.
The news comes in as NASA has faced over $6 billion in budget cuts from the Trump administration, as President Donald Trump's pick to lead the agency also shares Musk's Mars ambitions.
Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
Read Next:
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
