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I would guess SpaceX decided to provide everything the FAA/other agencies were asking for and thus their launch license was issued.

modeless 2y ago
SpaceX already provided all the required information. FAA was not waiting for anything from SpaceX. They had inexplicably decided a new environmental review was required for trivial changes to the launch license, and today they reversed that decision in a "written re-evaluation" which as far as I can tell is not based on any new information.
- jdiez17 2y ago
  So in your opinion, as soon as SpaceX uploads a PDF, the launch license should be issued immediately? P.S.: I wish SpaceX succeeds in bringing down the cost of access to space.
  - kortilla 2y ago
    Stop willfully misinterpreting it. The new 60 day window was something newly added this time just to give other agencies time to complain if they wanted. The FAA did their normal review like they’ve done for every other starship and falcon launch in a timely manner.
- jdiez17 2y ago
  Okay, I read the FAA's written reevaluation (source: https://www.faa.gov/media/85696 https://www.faa.gov/media/85696). My notes: - SpaceX requested to amend its existing "Programmatic Environmental Assesment" of 2022 to support jettisoning the interstage heat shield and (importantly) using an updating sonic boom model based on flight data. In my opinion, this is the critical point of this assessment. - The impact on endangered wildlife is reassessed based on a report submitted by SpaceX. - There are other points like concerns about waterway closures, and the water discharged by the deluge system. I know there was some controversy about the deluge system and the cleanliness of that water, but according to this report, it's all good. The new evaluation of the sonic boom using flight data shows that SpaceX's original assessment was way off and the intensity and area affected by these sonic booms is much larger in reality. The FAA then goes through a significant amount of rationalizations (with sources, to be fair) to justify that the predictions of the new sonic boom model are still acceptable. The biological resources section also shows that SpaceX underestimated the effects of their launch operations on local wildlife, but some research and monitoring measures are proposed to counteract this. All in all, my opinion is that the FAA is doing everything it can to not be an obstacle. But they do have to analyze this stuff much more rigorously than SpaceX does. That is quite literally their job after all.

modeless 2y ago

SpaceX already provided all the required information. FAA was not waiting for anything from SpaceX. They had inexplicably decided a new environmental review was required for trivial changes to the launch license, and today they reversed that decision in a "written re-evaluation" which as far as I can tell is not based on any new information.

jdiez17 2y ago
So in your opinion, as soon as SpaceX uploads a PDF, the launch license should be issued immediately? P.S.: I wish SpaceX succeeds in bringing down the cost of access to space.
- kortilla 2y ago
  Stop willfully misinterpreting it. The new 60 day window was something newly added this time just to give other agencies time to complain if they wanted. The FAA did their normal review like they’ve done for every other starship and falcon launch in a timely manner.
jdiez17 2y ago
Okay, I read the FAA's written reevaluation (source: https://www.faa.gov/media/85696 https://www.faa.gov/media/85696). My notes: - SpaceX requested to amend its existing "Programmatic Environmental Assesment" of 2022 to support jettisoning the interstage heat shield and (importantly) using an updating sonic boom model based on flight data. In my opinion, this is the critical point of this assessment. - The impact on endangered wildlife is reassessed based on a report submitted by SpaceX. - There are other points like concerns about waterway closures, and the water discharged by the deluge system. I know there was some controversy about the deluge system and the cleanliness of that water, but according to this report, it's all good. The new evaluation of the sonic boom using flight data shows that SpaceX's original assessment was way off and the intensity and area affected by these sonic booms is much larger in reality. The FAA then goes through a significant amount of rationalizations (with sources, to be fair) to justify that the predictions of the new sonic boom model are still acceptable. The biological resources section also shows that SpaceX underestimated the effects of their launch operations on local wildlife, but some research and monitoring measures are proposed to counteract this. All in all, my opinion is that the FAA is doing everything it can to not be an obstacle. But they do have to analyze this stuff much more rigorously than SpaceX does. That is quite literally their job after all.