It Happened! FAA Approved Bigger SpaceX Starship V2 Launch! Flight 7 This Month...

big news everyone the FAA has officially announced the license for flight 7 everything is coming together and the stage is set for a groundbreaking event that could shake the world in the near future nearby work on the watercooled deck continues progressing toward the completion of the system for olm pad B meanwhile SpaceX has turned up the heat with two Falcon 9 missions launched within just 9 hours a testament to their Relentless drive for Innovation and progress exciting changes are on the horizon so let's dive into all the details in today's episode of great SpaceX in early December SpaceX ramped up preparations for flight 7 with static fire tests of booster 14 and ship 33 now following the move of s33 both the booster and ship are at the production site for final checks and installations once these steps are complete they will move to the launch site for wet dress rehearsal testing marking a significant milestone in Readiness for the flight adding to this momentum the FAA has cleared a major hurdle for flight 7 on December 17th the FAA officially issued a license modification publicly announced on X the agency stated today the FAA issued a license modification authorizing SpaceX to launch multiple missions of the Starship super heavy vehicle on the flight 7 Mission profile and vehicle configuration the FAA determined SpaceX met all safety environmental and other licensing requirements for the suborbital test flight this signifies that all critical factors including Public Safety and environmental compliance have been satisfied areas that previously posed delays for SpaceX notably the recent flights have avoided intervention from environmental agencies signaling substantial progress in addressing these concerns with the faa's approval in place attention now turns to the mission objectives for flight 7 according to the FAA the flight 7 Mission profile involves launch of the combined Starship super heavy vehicle from Bach chica Texas a return to the launch site of the super heavy booster rocket for a catch attempt by the launch Tower and a water landing of the Starship vehicle in the Indian Ocean West of Australia please contact SpaceX for information about its planned launch date the mission includes an attempt to catch super heavy with the mechazilla arm and a controlled vertical water landing of Starship these objectives remain consistent with previous flights setting the stage for further reliability testing before the anticipated two-stage catch attempt possibly on flight 8 for many the super heavy catch attempt is particularly noteworthy marking only the second time this will be attempted as for the launch date the faa's license does not specify an exact timeline leaving the decision to SpaceX however NASA has estimated a potential launch date of January 11th aligning with reports that NASA and the Australian civil aviation Safety Authority or casasa will deploy aircraft to monitor starship's re-entry over the Indian ocean while SpaceX has not officially confirmed this date the current pace of progress makes an early January launch highly plausible optimists might even hope for a fifth flight before the end of 2024 as the faa's license remains valid from December 17th onward a notable update in the faa's license is its streamlined approach which was emphasized in bold text Kelvin B Coleman the FAA associate administrator for commercial space Transportation stated the FAA continues to increase efficiencies in our licensing determination activities to meet the needs of the commercial space Transportation industry this license modification that we are issuing is well ahead of the Starship flight 7 launch date and is another example of the faa's commitment to enable safe space Transportation the license further highlights that the SpaceX Starship program operates under an FAA issued part 450 launch license the faa's recent reforms have expedited the licensing process significantly this efficiency was evident in the short turnaround time between flights 5 and 6 which took place just 37 days apart similarly the streamlined process for flight 7 underscores the agency's commitment to supporting the rapid growth of commercial space flight moreover the FAA has announced plans to license up to 25 Starship flights at Starbase by 2025 with meetings scheduled for early January to finalize these approvals a transformative year for the industry seems imminent another key FAA initiative is the establishment of the space related Aerospace rulemaking committee or spark aimed at at further accelerating licensing under part 450 these reforms combined with recent decisions to simplify licensing processes represent positive developments for SpaceX and the broader commercial Aerospace sector adding to the optimism Jared isman a close partner of SpaceX is set to become NASA administrator in 2025 potentially offering SpaceX an even greater opportunity to accelerate its Ambitions returning to flight 7 the Readiness of both hardware and Regulatory processes signals that the mission is on track now it's a matter of counting down to the launch date while SpaceX has yet to make an official announcement speculation about the launch timeline continues to grow enthusiasts are encouraged to share their predictions in the comment section creating a sense of anticipation for this pivotal flight AS SpaceX continues its development Journey stay tuned for updates on flight 7 and Beyond don't forget to like And subscribe to keep up with the latest progress in spacex's quest to revolutionize space exploration as spacex's ambitious plans continue to take shape everything at Starbase must be prepared for the Monumental tasks ahead one of the most anticipated developments is Launchpad b a system poised to play a crucial role in increasing launch frequency and enabling the catch and reuse of both stages as early as next year one major upgrade to this system lies in the orbital launch Mount unlike the traditional design with six legs and a launch table the new system will accommodate mobile platforms beneath the olm SpaceX is constructing a state-of-the-art flame trench system in inspired by the setup at Massie however the new design referred to as a dual flame trench promises to double efficiency Paving the way for more reliable and frequent launches a key component of the system the water cooled deck has been spotted in installation images show its assembly underway with a steel plate divided into numerous internal tubes these tubes are likely designed for connections to manifolds or for the circulation of cooling fluids based on its shape this is likely just the first section of the water cooled Deck with additional components expected to follow soon the water cooled deck represents the second part of the flame trench's water Deluge system the first part known as the water cooled flame deflector pipe was discussed in a previous episode this system consists of a flame bucket connected to an incomplete manifold signaling that the larger pipe systems will be added later currently this component remains at the Sanchez site but will be integrated into the system once the water cold deck is complete for those seeking a deeper dive into the flame deflector system you can revisit our earlier episode via the link on the screen or in the description below meanwhile work on pad B's launch Tower continues the tower is now encased in scaffolding and a recent footage shows concrete pipes being fixed to the structure additional reinforcements have been welded to enhance the tower's stability and Readiness for future operations however one critical piece of equipment remains absent the Chopsticks a segment of the system was transported from Florida to Texas earlier this year alongside the tower modules but no further progress has been observed since with the faa's plan requiring Launchpad B to be completed by January 28th the pace of construction will undoubtedly accelerate in the coming weeks these efforts are all part of spacex's preparation for what promises to be a record-breaking year in 2025 if you're as excited about the future as we are share your enthusiasm by commenting let's go 25 the pace of progress isn't limited to Starbase spacex's Falcon 9 missions are breaking records in addition to developments at Starbase SpaceX achieved a remarkable feat on December 17th with two Falcon 9 missions launched just 9 hours apart SpaceX celebrated this Milestone with a tweet teams complete three successful falcony missions in under 24 hours the first mission nrol 149 launched at 8:19 a.m. eastern from SLC 4E in California this Mission conducted for the National reconnaissance office carried classified satellites possibly star Shields a starlink variant designed for military and government use approximately 8 minutes after liftoff the booster b1082 successfully landed on the ois Drone ship marking the booster's 22 Landing the 114th for ois L and spacex's 384th Landing to date notably this drone ship features a new water deluche system enhancing its efficiency a topic we'll explore further in the next episode later that day at 5:26 p.m. Eastern SpaceX launched a falcon 9 from LC 39a carrying the 03b M Power satellites for sces a Luxembourg based company about 8 minutes after liftoff the missions booster b190 successfully completed its Maiden landing on the jrti Drone ship the 03b and power satellites have consistently been launched aboard Falcon 9 Rockets the initial two missions took place in 2022 followed by several more in 2023 with this latest Mission the next launches are slated for 2025 and 2026 underscoring the programs ongoing success these back-to-back launches underscore spacex's unmatched capabilities as very few companies can achieve such rapid turnaround times with this latest achievement SpaceX has reached an impressive 128 missions in 2024 and with two weeks remaining in the year there's still potential for new Milestones looking ahead SpaceX aims to further increase its Falcon 9 launch Cadence in 2025 targeting over 180 missions a goal recently revealed by Elon Musk are you ready to witness this unprecedented progress in any case that's about it for today's episode thank you so much for tuning in and as always this has been Kevin from great SpaceX until next time keep looking up