FAA approves Starship Flight 9 launch with important change for booster reuse attempt

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has published a statement allowing SpaceX to fly Starship Flight 9, but there’s a condition and a specific change for this upcoming flight.

FAA confirmed that the license modification for the Starship Flight 9 test mission has been approved, alongside permission to fly 25 Starships per year from Starbase, Texas.

However, SpaceX cannot launch this massive rocket until the ongoing investigation into the Flight 8 mishap concludes. The agency is currently reviewing a mishap report submitted by SpaceX on May 14 on this matter.

The investigation follows two mishaps that occurred during the seventh and eighth Starship launch tests. During these flights, the rocket cleared the launch pad and conducted a hot-staging, followed by a successful booster catch via the launch tower.

Source – @SpcPlcyOnline/X

The second stage also fired its six Raptor engines to take the mission into space but experienced an anomaly, leading to a fire generation into the aft section of the ship, causing engine loss. This malfunction was identical during the past two flight tests and disintegrated the ship, which later scattered through the launch region after turning into debris.

On January 16, 2025, the FAA oversaw a SpaceX-led investigation on the Starship Flight 7 mishap, which closed on March 28. The mishap report explained that the cause of the failure was due to stronger-than-anticipated vibration during flight led to increased stress in the aft section.

On March 6, the mishap occurred during Flight 8, forcing SpaceX to conduct another investigation. After the FAA’s approval, SpaceX has to wait for the Starship Flight 8 investigation to conclude and launch Flight 9, which is expected next week.

Furthermore, the FAA has also expanded the size of aircraft and maritime hazard areas for the Starship Flight 9 mission in the US and other countries.

“This is a result of the FAA requiring SpaceX to revise the Flight Safety Analysis following the prior launch mishap and because SpaceX intends to reuse a previously launched Super Heavy booster rocket for the first time,” wrote the FAA in the statement.