SpaceX Starship Test 3 part-licensed
December 4, 2023
By Chris Forrester
Communication permissions for Elon Musk’s third test flight of the SpaceX Starship has been issued by the FCC. The communications licence covers a period from December 1st to January 6th 2024.
The formal communications licence was issued to SpaceX on November 28th, but is not permission to actually launch. Those final permissions will come from the FCC and other US agencies.
The issued licence states that it covers communications for a launch from Musk’s Starbase Texas and includes a first stage booster “with a soft water landing”.
SpaceX has to notify the rocket’s planned trajectory to the FAA, NASA and the US Air Force.
Final go-ahead will come from the FAA which is currently conducting its post-launch ‘mishap’ investigation on the November 18th Test Flight Number 2. But with zero injuries and no public property damage there is little for the FAA to worry about.
Meanwhile, now routine launches of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket continue. There were two flights this past weekend with 23 Starlink craft on board a Dec 3 flight and taking the total of satellites in orbit to 5,164 (out of 5,536 launched). Some are still in transition to their designated orbital locations.