That would mean a delay of six to eight months, he said.Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, recently announced that he will be stepping down as the CEO of the online retail company later this year. If that happens, Musk said that SpaceX would finish building a new launch tower at its launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and launch Starship from there. SpaceX's plans to dig natural-gas wells and build gas-fired power plants in Boca Chica could prolong the environmental review. "Hopefully, basically a couple months for both."ĭepending on the FAA's findings, it's possible SpaceX may also need to produce a new environmental-impact statement, which could take up to three years. Right now I think we're tracking to have the regulatory approval and hardware readiness around the same time," Musk said. "I think we're close to having the hardware ready to go. SpaceX is still working on a few upgrades, like adding more thrusters to the booster. He added that the Starship-Super Heavy hardware should be ready to fly at around the same time. We have gotten sort of a rough indication that there may be an approval in March," Musk said Thursday. "We don't have a ton of insight into where things stand with the FAA. SpaceX is required to have that assessment before it can conduct orbital Starship launches from Boca Chica. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expects to complete its environmental assessment of the Boca Chica launch site, which Musk calls "Starbase," by the end of this month. This time, both the technological and regulatory stars could align for his prediction of a 2022 orbital test launch. In his appearance on Thursday, though, he was much more reserved. Musk has previously admitted that he tends to be "somewhat optimistic with respect to schedules."
![elon musk step towards the stars elon musk step towards the stars](https://www.incimages.com/uploaded_files/image/1024x576/getty_490597796_200013332000928064_284191.jpg)
In his November video call, Musk said the first orbital launch would happen in January, and that SpaceX aims to carry out a dozen or more orbital test flights this year. They missed their November 2021 launch target, too. In previous public statements, SpaceX executives forecast a Starship orbital launch in July 2021. SpaceX officials have previously announced orbital-launch target dates that the company failed to hit. "I feel, at this point, highly confident that we'll get to orbit this year," Musk said.Įlon Musk during a visit to the Tesla Gigafactory plant under construction in Gruenheide, Germany, on August 13, 2021. Dwarfed by the towering launch system, Musk told an assembled crowd that the rocket will soon be ready to roar into Earth's orbit for the first time. Musk has been overly optimistic about past launch dates and SpaceX still needs Federal Aviation Administration approval.Įlon Musk says that SpaceX, the rocket company he founded in 2002, will likely launch its Starship mega-rocket into orbit around Earth for the first time this year.Īt SpaceX's rocket-development facilities in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday, Musk stood in front of a jet-black Starship, fully stacked atop the 23-story Super Heavy booster that's meant to heave it into orbit. Starship's first orbital launch would be a major step toward NASA's return to the moon and Musk's Mars settlement.
![elon musk step towards the stars elon musk step towards the stars](https://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/4-appletv.jpg)
SpaceXĮlon Musk says he's confident SpaceX will launch its Starship mega-rocket into orbit this year. Elon Musk stands before a Starship prototype stacked atop a Super Heavy booster prototype in Boca Chica, Texas on February 10, 2022.