FAA grants license for SpaceX’s next launch at Boca Chica Beach

The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday gave SpaceX the green light for a seventh launch from its Starbase facility at Boca Chica Beach.

A date for that launch, however, has not yet been set.

SpaceX has conducted three launches this year, including one that produced a sonic boom that could be felt as far away as Harlingen.

Its most recent flight was on Nov. 19 and was attended by President-elect Donald Trump, who has become close to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — even nominating him to a position to shrink the federal government in his upcoming administration.

SpaceX had sought to replicate its Oct. 13 launch, which included a successful booster catch. That did not work and the Super Heavy booster B13 was diverted away for a soft landing in the Gulf of Mexico. The company had indicated the booster catch would be attempted only with “healthy systems on the booster and tower.”

The Starship S31, meanwhile, which was pushed to the limit with a much harder reentry to test the limits of control flaps and thermal-protection material, successfully conducted a soft landing in the Indian Ocean near Australia.

That flight, SpaceX’s sixth, was the first test flight to carry a payload: a single plush banana, which was not released during the mission.

SpaceX also conducted a launch in March of Starship S28 and Super Heavy booster B10, which was the company’s third orbital flight attempt.

Activity at SpaceX’s Starbase facility has increased over the year and SpaceX has proposed launching up to 25 times a year from Boca Chica Beach.

Meanwhile, the company also filed a petition with Cameron County to incorporate Starbase into a city.

Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño said in a statement that attorneys are reviewing the petition and if it meets all the requirements, an election will be held.

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