FAA Completes Starship Safety Review

SpaceX photo taken before the Starship test flight mission in April 2023

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) completed its safety review of SpaceX’s Starship Super Heavy license evaluation, the regulator announced on Tuesday. However the FAA is still working on an environmental review. 

The FAA said in a statement that the safety review focuses on public health and safety of property, including flight safety and risk criteria for launch, reentry, and vehicle disposal. 

The FAA also said it is consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on an updated Biological Assessment under the Endangered Species Act, which must be completed for the environmental review. 

In September, the FAA closed its mishap investigation into SpaceX’s Starship flight test in April that ended in an explosion. 

The FAA gave SpaceX 63 corrective actions, including redesigning the launch pad. At that time, SpaceX said it had made upgrades, including leak mitigations on the booster, expanding the fire suppression system, and enhancing and requalifying the autonomous flight safety system. SpaceX also said it reinforced the launch pad foundation and added a flame deflector.