SpaceX Starship Flight 8 Could Launch Next Week, FAA Says
Largest rocket to ever fly could soon return to the skies, though the agency says a SpaceX-led investigation following the previous test flight remains open.
SpaceX’s Starship is the largest rocket to ever fly, standing 400 feet tall. [Courtesy: SpaceX]
According to a regional airspace advisory, SpaceX’s supercharged Starship rocket could lift off on its eighth test flight next week. Per the advisory, the Flight 8 launch window opens Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. EST, with backup opportunities through March 6.
Starship’s previous flight test in January returned a similar result to its first two missions: the rocket exploded in midair, and the FAA grounded it to open a mishap investigation. The “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” as SpaceX calls it, forced the aviation regulator to temporarily divert aircraft flying over the Caribbean.
SpaceX said Starship flew within a special corridor that would contain any debris to a “dedicated hazard area.” But the FAA said it activated a debris response area—which only happens when fragments fall outside that hazard area—to alert nearby aircraft.
An FAA spokesperson on Thursday told FLYING that the SpaceX-led investigation, which it must complete before receiving permission to fly again, remains open.
SpaceX itself has yet to announce Flight 8. If Starship does fly again next week, it would mark the rocket’s quickest return to flight after being grounded.
On Flight 7, SpaceX used a pair of metal “chopstick” arms to catch Starship’s Super Heavy booster in midair and return it to the launch pad—a feat it also achieved last year. Doing so again will likely be one of the objectives of the next test flight.
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