ars TECHNICA by Eric Berger – May 6, 2025
If SpaceX can clean up Starship's reliability issues, the company is free to fly. Although we are still waiting for SpaceX to signal when it will fly the Starship rocket again, the company got some good news from the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday.
After a lengthy review, the federal agency agreed to allow SpaceX to substantially increase the number of annual launches from its Starbase launch site in South Texas. Previously, the company was limited to five launches, but now it will be able to conduct up to 25 Starship launches and landings during a calendar year.
"The FAA has determined that modifying SpaceX’s vehicle operator license supporting the increased launch and landing cadence of the Starship/Super Heavy launch vehicle would not significantly impact the quality of the human environment," states the document, known as a Mitigated Finding of No Significant Impact. This finding was signed by Daniel P. Murray, executive director of the FAA's Office of Operational Safety.
This ruling follows a draft finding issued six months ago that indicated this would be the final outcome.
More:
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/05/faa-clears-spacex-for-25-launches-a-year-from-its-texas-launch-site/
