SpaceX is getting ready to fly Starship for the third time after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) closed an investigation into SpaceX’s second launch.

On November 18, 2023, SpaceX conducted its second Integrated Flight Test (IFT-2) for Starship. The FAA launched an investigation into the launch because of two explosions that happened during the test.

The explosions of Starship’s Upper Stage, also known as Starship, and its Super Heavy first-stage rocket occurred approximately three and a half and eight minutes after launch, respectively.

The FAA made it apparent that Starship would need to undergo a number of modifications in order to satisfy a number of regulatory requirements, including those pertaining to environmental impact and safety.

According to the FAA:

“SpaceX must carry out all remedial measures and obtain a license modification from the FAA that addresses all safety, environmental, and other applicable regulatory requirements prior to the next launch.”

Now that the inquiry has concluded, all SpaceX needs to do is update its license and provide the FAA with the necessary documentation to demonstrate that it has made the necessary corrections to the Super Heavy booster and the upper stage of the Starlship.

The Super Heavy first-stage booster was the subject of seven out of the seventeen corrective actions, which included:

• vehicle hardware redesigns
• updated control system modeling
• re-evaluation of engine analyses based on OTF-2 flight data
• updated engine control algorithms

The last 10 remedial measures, which concerned the higher stage, were as follows:

• vehicle hardware redesigns
• operational changes
• flammability analysis updates
• installation of additional fire protection
• guidance and modeling updates
• The good thing is that, despite the FAA’s request for corrective actions, it does not necessarily mean that Starship’s next test flight is all that far away.

It indicates that it is getting close, even if the FAA has not given its approval for launch.

After the first test flight in September 2023 and before the second launch just two months later in November, SpaceX was mandated by the FAA to identify and correct 63 corrective actions. After these 17 remedial steps are completed, SpaceX will receive a flight license from the FAA.

According to a revised license the firm submitted with the FAA earlier this year, SpaceX has a full schedule for the year and intends to launch Starship at least nine times in 2024.