WASHINGTON — A SpaceX executive used a Senate hearing to express frustration with the slow pace of launch licensing reviews that is holding up the next flight of the company’s Starship vehicle.
At a hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee’s space subcommittee Oct. 18, Bill Gerstenmaier, vice president of build and flight reliability at SpaceX, said the next Starship vehicle is ready for flight but is on standby waiting for an updated launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Starship has been ready for its next flight test for more than a month, but we are waiting for an FAA license and accompanying interagency review,” he said in his opening remarks. “The Office of Commercial Space Transportation, known as AST, must recognize where the industry is, where the industry is going and its role in regulating this emerging industry.”
The company is continuing additional tests on the vehicle, including recently stacking the Starship upper stage on its Super Heavy booster. Gerstenmaier said the company was planning a fueling test and practice countdown, known as a wet dress rehearsal, in the coming days.
“We’re doing that just because we have the time,” he told reporters after the hearing. “We get the wet dress for free when we load for launch, but if we’re not going to get the launch license, it’s to our advantage to load now and reduce that risk.”
“This is super hard because we have an unknown timeframe for when we’re going to get the license,” he said. Engineers find additional work to do on the vehicle, he noted, “but when we don’t know what the timeframe is, we don’t know how much work to do.”
He said the company is “trying to lean forward” with launch preparations, including maritime notices for potential launches that require two weeks of advance notice. “I can’t stay in limbo forever.”
In an interview last month, Kelvin Coleman, FAA associate administrator for…
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