The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved SpaceX’s Starship rocket for a second test flight. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it "has issued a license for the second launch of SpaceX's Starship Super Heavy launch vehicle." The agency determined that SpaceX complied with all safety, environmental, policy and financial responsibility requirements.
SpaceX confirmed that it is now aiming to conduct the test on November 17, with the launch window starting at 8 a.m. ET and the launch time being two hours.
In April this year, the "Starship" and "Super Heavy" boosters conducted their first orbital launch test. About 4 minutes into the flight, the "Starship" and "Super Heavy" boosters suddenly exploded and caught fire, igniting detonators and self-destructing. SpaceX said in a September report that a propellant leak in the Super Heavy booster was the cause of the failure, which "severed the connection to the vehicle's main flight computer."
After an investigation, the FAA identified 63 measures that SpaceX needs to take on Starship and the launch site before further attempts can be made.
Environmental activists and local residents near the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, criticized the damage to the surrounding area, where debris from the explosion is understood to have hit at least one aircraft. In order to launch again, SpaceX needs to obtain a license modification from the FAA that covers "all safety, environmental and other applicable regulatory requirements." SpaceX said the second flight will "feature for the first time a thermal stage separation system and a new electronic thrust vector control (TVC) system for the Super Heavy Raptor engines, in addition to reinforced launch pad foundations and water-cooled steel flame deflectors, among many other improvements."
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared a video of the fully assembled "Starship" on the launch pad on September 5, saying it could be launched "upon approval of the FAA license." Musk followed up on September 10, saying that the necessary updates had been made in order for the FAA to approve further Starship testing.
If all goes well (subject to usual preflight checks and weather conditions), the Starship will fly for 90 minutes after launch before landing vertically in the Pacific Ocean.