SpaceX has been given the green light by the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct another test flight of its Starship system, following a booster failure in May. The company identified the probable cause of the failure as heat effects on propulsion system components and erroneous engine alarm system settings.
According to SpaceX, the next test flight is expected to take place as soon as Thursday, July 16, and will mark the first Starship test flight for the company as a public entity. This flight will also see the launch of the first third-generation Starlink satellites to space, which are designed to increase the satellite network's capacity and user speeds.
The Federal Aviation Administration conducted an investigation into the May booster failure, which saw the Super Heavy booster fail to re-ignite its engines and plummet into the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX said it has made changes to the engine startup sequence and the engine alarm and abort systems to prevent similar failures in the future.
The next Starship test flight will be the second-ever launch of the third version, or V3, of Starship. The V3 versions of both Starship and Starlink are crucial to SpaceX's future, with Starlink being the only profitable part of the company's business in the run-up to its IPO.
SpaceX completed its IPO and publicly listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange on June 12, raising nearly $86 billion, a record.