Elon Musk‘s rocket manufacturing company SpaceX is seemingly optimistic about receiving regulatory approval for the second flight test of its Starship. The company now sees launching the vehicle as early as Nov. 17.
What Happened: “The second flight test of a fully integrated Starship could launch as early as Friday, November 17, pending final regulatory approval,” the company says on its website. However, this timeline is susceptible to change, it added.
Only last week, the company had pegged the launch for mid-November with no mention of particular dates.
SpaceX conducted the first test launch of Starship on April 20. The rocket exploded in less than four minutes after take-off.
Why It Matters: Starship, composed of the super heavy rocket and the starship spacecraft, aims to create a fully reusable transportation system for crew and cargo missions to Earth's orbit, the Moon, and Mars.
The company is now awaiting a green light from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for a second flight test. On Sept. 5, Musk said that the Starship is ready to launch again. Two months later, it is still awaiting launch approval.
However, last week, the FAA announced the completion of the Starship license safety review. The agency is now working on the environment review portion of the license evaluation.
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