SpaceX blasts being stuck in bureaucratic orbit as Starship approval slips
- Reference: 1726064113
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/09/11/spacex_starship_red_tape/
- Source link:
[1]According to SpaceX , the next Starship has been ready to go since August. The company has adopted a rapid iterative approach and added more objectives every flight. For the fifth flight, SpaceX hopes to be able to "catch" the Super Heavy Booster as it returns to the launchpad.
However, SpaceX has also been the subject of complaints over its environmental record. The company claims the slip in US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval from September to November is down to what it called "bad faith hysterics" rather than genuine safety concerns.
[2]
It claimed the delay was not based on a new safety concern "but instead driven by superfluous environmental analysis."
[3]
[4]
SpaceX highlighted four open issues: concerns around alleged pollutants from the water-cooled steel flame deflector it erected after the damage to the launch pad following the first Starship launch, worries about the splashdown location of the Super Heavy Booster's hot-stage, impact to wildlife – such as birds – by the company's operations, and the sonic booms that will be a consequence of the Super Heavy Booster returning to the launch site.
SpaceX insists the issues are arising from anything as simple as misunderstandings through to complaints from "a small, but vocal, minority of detractors trying to game the regulatory system to obstruct and delay the development of Starship."
[5]SpaceX aims high with Polaris Dawn mission
[6]Trump taps Musk to lead 'government efficiency' task force
[7]NASA confirms who is flying and who is not on SpaceX Crew Dragon
[8]SpaceX grounded after fumbling Falcon 9 landing for first time in years
"We continue to be stuck in a reality where it takes longer to do the government paperwork to license a rocket launch than it does to design and build the actual hardware," it said. "This should never happen and directly threatens America's position as the leader in space."
SpaceX's post came during a [9]US Space & Aeronautics Subcommittee hearing , in which contributors complained about the license approval process.
[10]
The FAA must follow the rules, which can work in SpaceX's favor, such as the company being permitted to resume Falcon 9 launches after mishaps, but they can also work against Elon Musk's rocketeers.
We're sure Musk won't hold any of this against the FAA should he find himself appointed head of a [11]"government efficiency" task force by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
One side effect of the ongoing delays in Starship launches is a knock-on delay in NASA's hoped-for Moon landing, which requires a Starship to take humans down to the lunar surface. At the time of writing, the launch of [12]Artemis III , which will land a crew on the Moon, is set for launch "no earlier than September 2026." This seems overly optimistic.
[13]
Blaming paperwork will ensure that the reality distortion field surrounding NASA's Artemis program and SpaceX's Starship promises can be preserved a little longer.
The Register asked the FAA to comment. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.spacex.com/updates/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZuG-oiu0Mj0NeJ0zC-W5BgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZuG-oiu0Mj0NeJ0zC-W5BgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZuG-oiu0Mj0NeJ0zC-W5BgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/10/spacex_polaris_dawn_launches/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/musk_government_efficiency_trump/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/02/nasa_confirms_crew_dragon/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/30/spacex_falcon_9_failure/
[9] https://www.youtube.com/live/1PyRw2OTcZw?si=Nln-KYDboByScdKN
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZuG-oiu0Mj0NeJ0zC-W5BgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/musk_government_efficiency_trump/
[12] https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/#artemis
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZuG-oiu0Mj0NeJ0zC-W5BgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: "Toys Tossed From Pram"
well musktwat is a right tosser
in many ways
Welcome to the real world...
We're all up to our asses waiting for permits.
The FAA have their job to do...
The FAA's job is to make sure everything is acceptable with a launch. That means making sure that things discovered since the first launch dont cause problems in future launches. Is it a surprise, that after the first couple launches, people have noticed some potential problems and want those investigated? Perhaps Space X could throw some funding at FAA, so it could hire more investigators to pursue the reviews (then again seeing the regulatory capture between Boeing and the FAA, maybe we dont want that!). Still you want faster investigations, then get the government to finance the regulatory agencies better...
As an aside, anytime a company starts bleeting about problems being caused by a "vocal minority", it usually turns out there talking about the majority of People living directly where the company is causing problems! And perhaps they dont want to live with those massive problems being dumped in their backyard! The quiet majority, dont tend to know about the problems, or live anywhere near them, so of course have no opinions to be loud about...
Re: The FAA have their job to do...
"Still you want faster investigations, then get the government to finance the regulatory agencies better..."
SpaceX's original stated intention for the site was to launch the Falcon 9, not as a destructive test facility smack in the middle of several nature preserves. The first launch tower was built without permits and Elon claimed it was only an "integration tower". What is supposed to be the biggest, most powerful rocket should have a water deluge/sound suppression system, but SpaceX abandoned the permit process with the Army Corps of Engineers and eventually proceeded with a "not a deluge system" that they didn't get any permissions for.
If you go through the process, it takes time, but it means that later on you aren't stopped cold as paperwork and permissions have to be amended or brought into compliance which can take even more time. The Boca Chica site was a poor choice for the Starship program as it has a very limited angle that avoids launching over populations and foreign nations (unfriendly). The only upside is that Elon seems to be getting away with flouting building codes and regulations and can pursue destructive testing that NASA is not going to allow on the site of the Apollo launch pads.
Re: The FAA have their job to do...
"The only upside is that Elon seems to be getting away with flouting building codes and regulations"
not an upside, merely an example of how musktwats money causes corruption
November
There is an important date on 5th of November in the US ... if the Starship did indeed successfully fly before that day, methinks that the opinion of Elon Musk concerning that important date might make a big impact on many Americans. Probably more than the opinion of a singer always dressed in glittering swimsuits (did nobody ever tell her to vary outfits ?). The current government had to swallow a big snake by having to ask SpaceX to save their asses from the Calamity Capsule, so another success would be difficult to ignore.
But pushing out after that important date might actually be for saving turtles, I wouldn't know. May-be turtles are particularly sensitive in september-october ?
Re: November
"But pushing out after that important date might actually be for saving turtles, I wouldn't know. May-be turtles are particularly sensitive in september-october ?"
SpaceX doesn't care about turtles. They were instructed to modify their lighting so baby turtles would be attracted to the sea rather than the factories inland that operate 25/7.
Re: November
musktwat don't care about fuck all, except his orange nazi mates
Re: November
I don't think many Americans, except perhaps partisan morons, would lay blame or success on any American government regardless of which colour it is.
NASA succeeds (most of the time) in spite of both Democrat and Republican governments, not because of them...
Re: November
>There is an important date on 5th of November in the US
Not really, most Americans don't do fireworks on Nov5.
Admittedly their recent enthusiasm for blowing up their legislature means they might embrace Guy Fawkes as a national hero
Re: November
He means the election.
No, really ?
Elon throws a tantrum
Elon's been on the interwebs whining about Blue Origin as well claiming the company is lobbing lawsuits at them, which isn't true. Blue has been going after NASA and the GAO for violating their own rules so they can favor Elon with contracts SpaceX has not qualified for. Another complaint in the media is that Blue hasn't gone to orbit yet. It's the case of the tortoise and hare. SpaceX hasn't put the Starship in orbit either comparing it with New Glenn. I expect that there's a very good chance the first outing of New Glenn isn't going to wind up as a giant explosion like some I could mention.
It's the FAA preventing a Starship launch, not paperwork.
> Blaming paperwork will ensure that the reality distortion field surrounding NASA's Artemis program and SpaceX's Starship promises can be preserved a little longer.
"Toys Tossed From Pram"
Why I love the Reg.