The FAA is taking extra precautions for SpaceX’s next Starship test flight

“The FAA conducted a comprehensive safety review of the SpaceX Starship Flight 8 mishap and determined that the company has satisfactorily addressed the causes of the mishap, and therefore, the Starship vehicle can return to flight,” the FAA said in a statement released yesterday.

Similar to how SpaceX’s 7th Starship test flight played out in January, Flight 8 saw the ship successfully separate from the Super Heavy booster rocket that returned to the launch site at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas where it was caught by the launch tower. But at around nine minutes into its flight, Starship began to tumble and eventually exploded before reaching its engine cutoff stage.

Previously failed test flights resulted in Starship debris raining down over Turks and Caicos and parts of the Bahamas. Although SpaceX has said the debris has been limited to pre-planned Debris Response Areas, on multiple occasions the FAA has briefly slowed and diverted flights, and initiated full ground stops at several Florida airports.

SpaceX plans to reuse a previously launched Super Heavy booster rocket for the first time for Flight 9 – specifically the rocket from Flight 7. As a result, the FAA is expanding the Aircraft Hazard Area (AHA) as an added safety precaution. For Flight 8, the AHA covered approximately 885 nautical miles. For Flight 9, it’s nearly twice the size at 1,600 nautical miles and covers parts of Texas and Florida, as well as the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.

In addition to expanding the hazard area, the FAA is also requiring the Flight 9 launch window “to be scheduled during non-peak transit periods” in order to “minimize disruption to U.S. and international airspace users.”

Thursday’s update follows the FAA’s decision to issue a launch license earlier this month for SpaceX’s 9th Starship test flight and modify the license to expand the company’s annual operations. “The approval includes final action allowing SpaceX to increase Starship operations from five up to 25 per year at Boca Chica, Texas.”