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posted by janrinok on Friday November 22, @12:01AM   Printer-friendly
from the all-boxes-on-all-forms-must-be-checked dept.

SpaceX's Shotwell Says US Regulators Must 'Go Faster'

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell fired off fresh criticism at US regulators on Friday, saying rocket launch approvals need to catch up with the pace her company is innovating.

[....] Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company plans to launch the sixth major test of its new Starship vehicle on Tuesday, and sees as many as 400 launches of the moon and Mars craft over the next four years, Shotwell said. That compares with a record 148 missions that US regulators authorized for the entire commercial space industry in the government's most recent fiscal year.

[....] In September, Musk, SpaceX's founder and Chief Executive Officer, called on the head of the FAA to resign and claimed that government paperwork to license a launch takes longer than building the actual rocket.

On Thursday, the FAA said it plans to update its launch and reentry licensing rule, as the number of space operations could more than double by 2028, it said.

What did FAA do back when aircraft were new and novel, and could be dangerous?


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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by DannyB on Friday November 22, @02:51PM (1 child)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday November 22, @02:51PM (#1382863) Journal

    SpaceX just got exactly what it wanted from the FAA for Texas Starship launches [arstechnica.com]

    All pertinent conditions and requirements of the prior approval have been met."

    A day after SpaceX launched its Starship rocket for the sixth time, [arstechnica.com] the company received good news from the Federal Aviation Administration regarding future launch operations from its Starbase facility in South Texas.

    In a draft version [faa.gov] of what is known as an "Environmental Assessment," the FAA indicated that it will grant SpaceX permission to increase the number of Starship launches in South Texas to 25 per year from the current limit of five. Additionally, the company will likely be allowed to continue increasing the size and power of the Super Heavy booster stage and Starship upper stage.

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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday November 23, @12:38PM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday November 23, @12:38PM (#1382979) Journal
    That's a separate issue, Danny. Each of those launches will still need individual license approval.