On Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved a launch license for SpaceX's Starship 5, scheduled to launch on Sunday, despite earlier expectations that a decision would be made closer to late November.
SpaceX aims to launch during a 30-minute window starting at 7:00 a.m. CT (1200 GMT), reports Reuters.
The FAA said on Saturday SpaceX had “met all safety, environmental and other licensing requirements for the suborbital test flight” for the fifth test of the Starship and has also approved the Starship 6 mission profile.
The Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket are a fully reusable system built to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, and beyond.
For the fifth test flight of the Starship/Super Heavy from Boca Chica, Texas, SpaceX plans to try to catch the Super Heavy booster rocket as it returns to the launch site and have the Starship land in the Indian Ocean, west of Australia.
The FAA said that if SpaceX decides on an uncontrolled entry, they must notify the FAA before the launch. In that case, losing the Starship vehicle will be seen as a planned event, so a mishap investigation won't be needed.
On Friday, the FAA also approved the SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle to fly again after reviewing the findings and actions taken from the investigation into the incident on September 28.
Bd-pratidin English/Afia
