The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has overseen multiple delays of SpaceX’s Starship launch, and a new announcement shows the launch is being pushed back even more.
The FAA has pushed back SpaceX’s Starship launch to March 28, as it completes its environmental review of Starbase, Texas, according to an announcement on Monday reported by Space.com.
The news comes after the agency delayed the review’s completion from the initial date on December 31 to February 28, with the recent delay pushing the report’s release back another month.
‘Polaris Program’ to Bring First Human Spaceflight on SpaceX Starship https://t.co/chVCGsyKRy
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) February 14, 2022
During a Starship update last week, SpaceX Head Elon Musk seemed to have an idea the delay was coming, saying the company had “gotten sort of a rough indication” that the approval may be coming in March.
Musk also emphasized a quick turnaround from approval to launch, saying “So right now, I think we’re tracking to have the regulatory approval and hardware readiness around the same time.”
Musk added that, worst case scenario, the approval would be delayed for six or eight months, giving the company to build up a Starship launch tower at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Earlier this week, the Polaris Program was unveiled and announced plans to bring the first human spaceflight on SpaceX’s Starship to conduct research on human health during space travel.
