FAA approves seventh launch of Starship at Boca Chica

BOCA CHICA, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Federal Aviation Administration has granted SpaceX approval to launch multiple missions of the Starship/Super Heavy vehicle on the Flight 7 mission profile and vehicle configuration.

On Tuesday, the FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental and other licensing requirements for the suborbital test flight.

"The FAA continues to increase efficiencies in our licensing determination activities to meet the needs of the commercial space transportation industry," said the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation Kelvin B. Coleman. "This license modification that we are issuing is well ahead of the Starship Flight 7 launch date and is another example of the FAA`s commitment to enable safe space transportation."

In its seventh flight, SpaceX aims to launch the stacked Starship/Super Heavy vehicle from Boca Chica Beach and have the Super Heavy booster return to the launch site for a catch attempt by the launch tower.

Additionally, Starship is expected to have a water landing in the Indian Ocean, west of Australia.

SpaceX has not yet announced a launch window for its seventh flight.