SpaceX’s Starship cleared to return to flight with expanded ‘hazard areas’

The Federal Aviation Administration has cleared SpaceX to perform the ninth test flight of its Starship rocket system, following back-to-back explosions earlier this year.

The agency said Thursday it is “expanding the size of hazard areas both in the U.S. and other countries” for the flight based on an updated safety analysis provided by SpaceX. The Starship vehicle mishaps from Flights 7 and 8 caused a greater probability of failure of the vehicle and, therefore, a larger hazard area. Hazard areas are, essentially, temporary no-fly zones the FAA establishes when the potential for impact with debris exists.

The new hazard area drawn up by the FAA covers around 1,600 nautical miles running eastward from Texas and through the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos, where debris from the previous two test flights landed. That’s roughly double the size of the hazard area the FAA used for the most recent Starship test flight in March.

The FAA said it is also requiring SpaceX perform the test flight during “non-peak” travel periods, after the previous two Starship mishaps forced the agency to divert dozens of domestic and international flights.

SpaceX has been testing its Starship system for two years now from the launch complex the company built in southern Texas. CEO Elon Musk has claimed the ultimate purpose of the system is to send people to Mars, but the short-term aim for Starship is to allow SpaceX to launch even more of its Starlink satellites into orbit around Earth. SpaceX also says it will use Starship “to provide greater mission capability to NASA and the Department of Defense.”

To date, SpaceX has used its workhorse Falcon 9 to launch Starlink satellites. In fact, most Falcon 9 launches these days are all about Starlink.

But while Starlink has already become an internet provider in high demand, it’s possible there could be an even greater need for launch capacity as the Trump administration reportedly pushes other countries to adopt the service as leverage in its myriad trade wars.

Musk has also placed members of his Department of Government Efficiency who are reportedly helping the agency test Starlink terminals as a potential solution for the FAA’s trouble with the current air traffic control system.