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In
late April, the FAA extended the target date to May 31 for a
decision, saying it was "working toward issuing the final
Programmatic Environmental Assessment" after several delays. The
agency said in April SpaceX had made multiple changes to its
application that required additional FAA analysis.
The FAA has noted that completing the environmental review does
not guarantee the issuance of a vehicle operator license, which
is contingent upon meeting FAA requirements for safety, risk and
financial responsibility.
The FAA released a 151-page draft environmental review in
September that looked at potential environmental impacts of
SpaceX’s initial mission profile and reviewed debris recovery,
local road closings in Boca Chica and other issues.SpaceX
founder Elon Musk said in February he was "highly confident" his
new SpaceX Starship, designed for voyages to the moon and Mars,
would reach Earth orbit for the first time this year.
Even in a "worst-case" scenario, in which a full environmental
impact statement was required or legal wrangling over the issue
threatened to drag on, Musk said SpaceX has a fallback plan.
The company would shift its entire Starship program to the
Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, where SpaceX
already has received the environmental approval it needs, Musk
said.
Such a move would cause a setback of six to eight months, he
added. In any case, SpaceX is still shooting for a 2023 launch
of what it calls the world's first private lunar mission, flying
aboard a Starship to loop around the moon and return to Earth.
(Reporting by David Shepardson. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
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