SpaceX's Starship Launch Stalls Amid Environmental Review, Expected in Over 4 Months

A potential setback has hit Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) launching an environmental review on SpaceX's Starship launch system. This constitutes one of the final regulatory steps before the multi-billion dollar launch system can resume flights following its explosive debut in April.

This move comes under a formal consultation stipulated by the Endangered Species Act which started on October 19th. The FWS has a window of up to 135 days to provide a comprehensive biological opinion on how Starship and its launches would impact the local ecosystem and wildlife. However, the expectation is that it will not utilise the full review period.

Starship, Musk’s ambitious project set to deliver cargo and humans to the moon, and eventually Mars, has reportedly been ready for its next test flight for over a month, but is patiently waiting the completion of this thorough and lengthy regulatory process.

At the heart of the environmental review is SpaceX's introduction of a water deluge system to combat the heat, forces, and gasses produced by the gigantic rocket during liftoff. The water deluge system is erected at the launchpad located at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

The terrain surrounding the launchpad has already endured the brunt of a failed test flight. On April 20, Starship's maiden flight culminated in multiple engine failures and an ensuing explosion that spread debris and pulverized concrete across 385 acres of proximate land, also setting off a 3.5-acre fire on state park land.

This has led to SpaceX being subjected to a 63 corrective action plan to avoid a repeat of the previous catastrophic test. However, even with these measures in place, SpaceX is unable to proceed with any more test flights without a launch license from the FAA. This cannot be issued until the completion of the consultation with the FWS.

The consultation was initially instigated in August when FAA sent a biological assessment to FWS concerning the possible environmental impact of changes to Starship. However, following a request for additional information, the process only officially kicked off on Oct. 5 following a subsequent report from the FAA.