Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / SpaceX battles regulatory process that could hold up Starship test flight until next year

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SpaceX battles regulatory process that could hold up Starship test flight until next year · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:02
  Hi everybody. Welcome back to another episode
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  of the Elon Musk podcast. Today we're peeling back the
• 0:07
  curtain a little bit on Spacex's grand plans and a little bit of
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  drama that's going on with the next generation of their
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  spacecraft. The Starship.
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  Seems like Elon Musk and the SpaceX team are also pushing
• 0:19
  boundaries down at Boca Chica Starbase, Texas.
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  From successfully landing and reusing Falcon 9 rocket boosters
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  to planning uncrued missions to Mars, this company has been
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  hitting milestone after milestone and continues to
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  progress day in, day out. But things haven't always moved
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  smoothly, and timelines often stretch beyond original
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  projections. In this episode, we'll discuss
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  the hurdles, updates, and future plans of Spacex's Starship.
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  Now, SpaceX has established itself as a pioneer in the
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  commercial space sector. Last year, the company managed
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  to conduct 70 launches using Falcon 9 rockets, each featuring
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  a reusable booster stage, and this innovation and reusability
• 1:03
  has significantly cut down costs, allowing for more
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  frequent launch schedules. However, Musk is not a stranger
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  to setbacks. Promises of timelines often
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  outpace actual progress, and ambitious projects can run into
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  delays. Back in 2016, during an
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  International Astronomical Congress and Guadalajara,
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  Mexico, Musk revealed Spacex's initial designs for what was
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  then called the Interplanetary Transport System or the ITS aim
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  was for the first uncrewed landing on Mars to occur in
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  2022, followed by the 1st flight with people on board in 2024.
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  Fast forward to today, and although there has been a test
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  flight of Starship, it didn't go very smoothly.
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  The spacecraft lost control during its ascent, leading to
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  its detonation for safety reasons.
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  Now a second Starship is already on standby.
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  According to Musk, the next move now depends on the Federal
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  Aviation Administration, which is expected to issue a new
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  launch license sometime soon, And Musk shared some updates on
• 2:04
  Starship design. The second stage engines will
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  ignite before separation from the booster, this time, a
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  procedure known as hot staging, designed for maximum efficiency.
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  But it's also a complicated operation that could lead to
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  unexpected challenges. And while SpaceX has been known
• 2:20
  for its engineering progress, navigating through regulatory
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  frameworks remains very challenging.
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  The company is currently awaiting approval from the FAA
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  for the next IFT 2 Starship test flight from Boca Chica Starbase,
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  Texas. And this isn't the only
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  regulatory hurdle, though. The US Fish and Wildlife Service
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  has received a final biological assessment from the FAA,
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  initiating a 30 day review period that could be extended to
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  the spring of 2024 under certain conditions and according to the
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  Fish and Wildlife Service, reinitiation of formal
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  consultation under the Endangered Species Act is
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  necessary when there's significant change in a project
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  and its impacts. This review is a result of
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  Spacex's newly implemented Water Dillard system, part of a list
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  of 63 corrective actions recommended after the
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  unsuccessful launch of the first Starship test flight.
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  This new system has already been deployed during static fire
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  tests of Booster 9, which is set to be the next SpaceX launch
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  vehicle, and Elon Musk is no longer explicitly stating that
• 3:27
  humans will be on Mars by 2024. However, he does have other
• 3:31
  ambitious plans for Starship. One such goal is the quick turn
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  around between launches, which would involve catching the Super
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  heavy booster in the Starship upper stage in mid air after
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  they returned from the missions. Musk says that it's a decent
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  chance of this happening within the next year.
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  Now. Additionally, SpaceX is planning
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  to launch its next generation Starlink satellites using
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  expendable versions of the Starship.
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  Now, the question that still remains unanswered is when will
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  Starship land NASA astronauts on the moon?
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  While Musk acknowledged that a lunar Lander version is in the
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  works, he emphasized that the design will not deviate much
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  from a spacecraft intended for Mars missions.
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  Now Artemis 3, NASA's program to land astronauts on the moon, is
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  currently scheduled for late 2025, but it could be pushed
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  back further. Spacex's Starship was chosen as
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  the human landing system for this mission, and a senior
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  SpaceX official noted that there is a backlog with FAA work
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  leading to delays in the licensing progress in the
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  process and Starship. This could have ripple effects
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  in the art of his program's timeline as well, and there's
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  also political pressure mounting for SpaceX, especially as its
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  vice president of build and flight reliability is set to
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  testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Space and
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  Science. This hearing will likely cover a
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  range of issues, from suborbital flights to lunar surface
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  habitats, and is crucial for SpaceX.
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  As it continues to push the envelope in space exploration
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  technologies. And in the labyrinth of these
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  regulations and bureaucratic obstacles, SpaceX is finding
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  itself at the crossroads of innovation and policy.
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  This testimony isn't just about SpaceX, it's a marker for the
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  entire industries. Companies like Blue Origin,
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  Virgin Galactic, and others will also weigh in shaping the
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  conversation from suborbital tourism to long term lunar
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  habitation. Now, this juncture is
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  particularly pivotal for Spacex's Starship program.
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  The Human Landing system for NASA's Artemis missions is in
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  play here, and according to SpaceX officials, the snail's
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  pace of FAA approvals has become a critical path item, putting
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  pressure on an already challenging Artemis timeline.
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  Now, the need for a series of demonstration flights, ranging
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  from ship to ship refueling to uncrewed lunar landings means
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  that the FAA's foot dragging could stretch these critical
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  months into very critical years. And to navigate these hurdles,
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  SpaceX and its industry counterparts will have to
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  advocate not just for the individual ventures, but for a
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  more streamlined regulatory framework that accommodates the
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  unique demands and potentials of commercial spaceflight.
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  Now, this is not just about reaching Mars or going back to
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  the moon. It's about shaping the rules and
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  the expectations that will govern humanity's access to
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  space for decades to come, not just for astronauts, but for
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  normal people like you and me. And as SpaceX deals with an ever
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  changing timetable subject to the whims of regulatory bodies
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  and the realities of technological innovation, they
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  find themselves in a challenging yet pivotal position.
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  Musk's dreams of interplanetary travel in a new aerospace
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  exploration hinged not only on the hardware his company is so
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  adept at creating, but also on a broader regulatory environment
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  that is agile enough to keep pace with the speed of modern
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  innovation. Now, thank you so much for
• 6:48
  listening to the show today. Don't forget to hit the
• 6:50
  subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast platform
• 6:53
  you're listening on right now. It's free, takes a second, and
• 6:56
  helps us out tremendously. And remember, every episode is
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  10 minutes or less to keep you up to date on all things Elon
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  Musk and SpaceX. So please take care of
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  yourselves and each other and I'll see you in the next one
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  tomorrow.