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SpaceX wants to ramp up Starship testing

Musk's company plans 25 launches in 2025

By: Eric Lagatta
USA Today

..... Elo Musk is pushing for SpaceX to significantly ramp up Starship test launches in 2025.
..... The proposal from Musk, the billionaire founder and CEO of the commercial space transpiration company, would quintuple the flight tests of the massive SpaceX mega-rocket from five demonstrations this year [2024] to 25 next year. [2025]
..... Though Musk's request would need approval from federal regulators, it comes as the tech mogul's influence over U.S. policy is likely to grow when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. [2025]
..... SpaceX envisions the powerful spacecraft begin a fully reusable transportation system that can carry both humans and cargo to Earth's orbit, the moon and even Mars. Musk has sought to aggressively develop and test the Starship rocket even as NASA has since delayed the moon mission for which it would be sued by at least another year.
..... the Federal Aviation Administration December 17 [2024] issued a launch license for the next Starship flight test, clearing the way for SpaceX to once again launch the world's largest rocket from south Texas.
..... But while SpaceX is rapidly preparing for its flight test, the company has not yet announced a target date for the launch.
..... In recent days, SpaceX has shared photos of the Starship vehicle being prepared at the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, near Brownsville. The FAA, which licenses commercial rocket launches, has issued the green light as SpaceX's Starship had been undergoing engine tests to check the flight readiness of its seventh Starship, composed of both a spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket booster.
..... SpaceX launched just one Starship flight test in 2023 before increasing the demos to five in 2024, with the final one of the year taking place in November. [2024]
..... But that's nothing compared to the increase Musk seeks in 2025 as he plans to move his entire rocket-building operations form California to south Texas.
..... Before the FAA can make a ruling on SpaceX licensing, the federal agency is solicit ion public input on SpaceX's proposal and hosting five public meetings in January: [2025] four in Texas and one January 13 [2025] that will be live-streamed SpaceX must also "satisfy all safety, environmental and other regulatory requirements before the FAA will approve the increase in operations," the agency said in a statement," the agency said in a statement.

SpaceX clashes with FAA

..... SpaceX has found itself at odds with the FAA in recent months.
..... In September, [2024] the FAA announced a proposal to hit SpaceX with $633,009 in civil p4nalties for what the agency claims were failures by the company to follow license requirements ahead of two separate launches. In response, Musk took to his social media site X to indicate he plans to sue the agency for "regulatory overreach."
..... News of the proposed fines came on the heels of the FAA briefly grounding SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket following a fiery landing mishap on an otherwise successful orbital satellite delivery.
..... Musk has routinely taken aim at federal regulators,both for the proposed fines and for what SpaceX has labeled a "superfluous" delay in approving licenses for Starship test flights.
..... In its statement, the FAA said it seeks to balance spaceflight progress with the need to ensure commercial launches are safe. A record 148 FAA-licensed commercial space operations took place in 2024, up by more than 30% form the previous year. [2023]
..... "The FAA is committed to enabling the success of the U.S. commercial space transpiration industry, ensuring the U.S. remains the preeminent commercial space country of choice and maintaining the industry's strong safety record," the agency said.

Concerns about Starship

..... SpaceX has spent years developing and testing the Starship, which is classified as a super heavy-lift launch vehicle and is lauded as the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built.
..... The vehicle features two components: The 165-foot Starship spacecraft itself, and the 232-foot Super Heavy rocket it;s perched atop.
..... The Starship is due to play a pivotal role in NASA's lunar ambitions and future deep space flight in the coming years.
..... Andre NASA's lunar exploration plans, Artemis III astronauts abroad the Orion capsule would board the Starship while in orbit for a ride to the moon's surface. Musk also has grand ambitions of sending the first Starships to Mars in late 2026, the next time that Earth and Mars line up, followed by crewed flights in 2028.
..... Environmentalists and watchdog groups have expressed concerns about the environmental impact of frequent Starship launches. What's more, many advocates have begun to worry that Musk's influence with Trump may lead to less oversight of the spaceflight sector. Musk, who spent more than a quarter-billion dollars to help Trump get elected, is set to be appointed to lead Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, a new advisory group tasked with downsizing government.
..... Earlier this year, [2024] a New York Times investigation found that on at least 19 occasions since 2019, SpaceX operations have caused fires, leaks explosions or other environmental damage associated with the rapid growth of Starbase in Boca Chica.
..... And in 2023, environmental groups sued the FAA over the explosion of SpaceX Starship rocket on its inaugural test flight, accusing the agency of allowing the company to bypass important environmental reviews because of political and financial influence.
..... SpaceX officials did not comment in the times; article, but musk and his company have frequently lambasted what they view as "false reporting" about the toll its launches take on the environment.

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