After completing the design of the SpaceX starships, the world has been looking up to the first orbital test flight of these sophisticated vehicles. Reuters recently reported that a senior NASA official has revealed that SpaceX is planning to fly one of its sophisticated Starship prototypes into orbit for the first time in December. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX announced earlier this year that SpaceX will be conducting its first starship orbital test flight before the end of the year.
After the Federal Aviation Administration released 75 mitigation actions that SpaceX must meet before commencing on this test flight, the aerospace company could see a promising future for its starship vehicles. SpaceX has to accomplish this orbital test flight to prove to the world that these starships are safe for commencing on the journey to the moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA earlier contracted SpaceX to design its first crewed lunar lander which astronauts will use to land on the lunar surface during the Artemis space program.
The American space Agency is looking at landing the first batch of astronauts in near the moon’s south pole during the Artemis 3 mission in 2025 or 2026. Hence, the expectation to see the safety regulations on SpaceX’s side is currently high.
On Monday, October 31, Mark Kirasich, who serves as the deputy associate administrator for Artemis campaign development made some statements about SpaceX starship flights during a NASA Advisory Council meeting.
“We track four major Starship flights. The first one here is coming up in December, part of early December,” Mark Kirasich said.
The announcement reveals how close SpaceX is to achieving its first orbital test flight of the starship. Keep in mind that SpaceX has flown its starship in the past for just an altitude of 6 miles (10 kilometers) or thereabout. But since May 2021, no starship prototype has been flown again up to date. However, the recent announcement shows how SpaceX will be reaching orbit for the first time with its Starship. The entire world will surely be amazed to watch this sophisticated space vehicle make its way into space.
How SpaceX is meeting the FAA requirements for its Starship Orbital test flight
SpaceX has for long hoped to conduct an orbital flight of its Starship. However, the extended environmental review by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has delayed the test flight of these Starships. The FAA review, which was identified as a programmatic environmental assessment was used to study Starship activities at Starbase, located near the city of Brownsville in south Texas.
The FAA finalized its examination of the SpaceX facility with 75 actions that must be met to lower the environmental impact on this region. Elon Musk recently reveals that the Starship will be conducting its orbital test flight in November. However, it seems like SpaceX is yet to complete these 75 actions of the FAA. But with the recent announcement, one could see that SpaceX will complete these actions before December. At the completion of these actions, the FAA will grant an orbital launch license to the American Aerospace Company.
Conclusion
SpaceX is looking at commencing with the orbital test flight of its sophisticated spaceships. If all goes as planned, we all should be expecting to see the Starship prototype exploring the stars by next month. What are your thoughts about this recent announcement on the starship orbital test flight?
