The return of the SpaceX Starship to the skies is coming sooner than expected, and while the launch license of the company is arriving, its plans for the spacecraft this year were revealed by the Federal Aviation Authority to the public. For 2024, SpaceX is planning to launch the Starship nine times, regarded by the FAA as "a lot" for the company for the year.
That being said, it only shows how much the company wants its spacecraft to be the center of various missions, set to replace the Falcon 9 in the future.
SpaceX Starship Third Flight: License is Coming
Ars Technica reported that SpaceX's third launch test for the Starship may be coming in a few weeks, with the Federal Aviation Authority soon giving it the license it needs for this venture. This would be the first launch of the Starship in 2024, with March seeing the company get its license and conducting its flight shortly, possibly three weeks from now.
This was claimed amidst a press availability this week, with Kelvin Coleman, the administrator for Commercial Space Transportation at the Federal Aviation Authority sharing the information.
Moreover, the agency is now working closely with SpaceX to facilitate the Starship launch-licensing process for this third flight.
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SpaceX Plans 9 Launches for Starship in 2024
Coleman also revealed the massive plans of SpaceX for the Starship this year, calling its launch schedule "aggressive."
They're looking at, I believe, at least nine launches this year. That's a lot of launches. If you're doing modifications and doing them one by one, that's a lot of work. We've been talking to SpaceX constantly around the clock, coming together and trying to figure out how we do this.
Kelvin B. Coleman
SpaceX's Starship Test Launches in 2023
When the time finally came for SpaceX to bring its Starship to the skies, the company wasted no time in launching the spacecraft, initially seeing a massive part of 2022 to the environmental assessment that hindered its licensing. In April 2023, SpaceX finally launched its Starship for the first time, but there were significant findings after the event, including how it blew a concrete hole in the ground and sent debris flying all around Boca Chica.
After another assessment which took about six months for the FAA, the space company was given another license for its next test flight, one that it conducted in November 2023. SpaceX took pride in this second launch as it gave more promising results, especially as the first launch saw several engines not firing, but in this attempt, it also saw the Starship explode mid-air.
There are no fully successful tests yet from Starship where the spacecraft flew to its desired height and returned to the landing area as what the company intends for this fully-reusable rocket. Despite all of these, SpaceX is still looking to deliver the Starship as soon as possible and be ready for the many rideshare commissions it already has, with aggressive plans to launch this year.
