SpaceX has been on a long road with the development of the Starship, creating dozens of prototypes, testing each one, and conducting three orbital tests so far. Despite these advances, one of the most frustrating aspects for SpaceX has been the slow and strict process of obtaining the necessary licenses for these tests from the FAA. This process has been a significant bottleneck, slowing down the pace of development and testing. However, there's been a recent development from the FAA that's set to change everything regarding how licenses are issued for these kinds of tests. In this video, we're going to look into what the FAA is doing differently, why it's a big deal for SpaceX.
When we look at the complexity and challenge of developing the Starship, dealing with paperwork like launch licenses should be the last thing SpaceX spends time on.
The Starship is SpaceX's most ambitious project, a stainless steel spacecraft designed to carry humans to Mars. It stands at 120 meters tall with its booster and has a diameter of 9 meters. Its design aims for full reusability to reduce the cost of space travel.
The propulsion of the Starship comes from its Raptor engines, which run on liquid methane and liquid oxygen. The choice of methane allows for the possibility of refueling on Mars due to the presence of methane resources. The Starship itself is powered by six Raptor engines, providing a significant amount of thrust necessary to escape Earth's gravity. The Super Heavy booster, essential for lifting Starship into orbit, is equipped with around 33 Raptor engines, making it one of the most powerful launch vehicles ever planned.
The timeline from the drawing board to a functional Starship prototype spans several months to years. And after all the effort and time SpaceX invests in developing each Starship prototype, obtaining a single launch license from the FAA has been even a bigger challenge.
For the first test flight, the FAA issued SpaceX's launch license on April 14, 2023. This announcement came after more than 500 days of review by the FAA, which marked the longest the agency has spent on a single launch license application. This extended review period was attributed to the complexity of the Starship application and the size of the vehicle, creating a significant demand on the agency's resources.
For the second integrated test flight of SpaceX's Starship, the process to secure the necessary approvals involved in-depth regulatory reviews. The review began on October 19, and while it could have taken up to 135 days for the Federal Aviation Administration, the process was completed quicker than the maximum allowed time.
Towards the end of 2023, multiple space companies, including SpaceX, expressed frustration with the slow FAA licensing process. They took their concerns to Congress, advocating for reforms to make the process quicker. SpaceX suggested the FAA should hire more staff to speed up the licensing process and even offered help with recruitment. This push for change seemed to have an impact, as the third launch license was issued by the FAA without any delays, allowing SpaceX to proceed with its test flight on schedule.
Considering SpaceX's ambitious plan to launch 1,000 Starships per year, the FAA's slow licensing process becomes a significant barrier. Even if SpaceX could streamline the process to obtain a launch license in as little as one month, achieving 1,000 launches annually would still be practically impossible under the current system.


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