The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted regulatory approval for SpaceX to significantly ramp up the number of Starship launches from Starbase, Texas’ newest city. The new environmental assessment allows SpaceX to conduct up to 25 Starship launches and landings annually—five times more than the previous limit.
The approval comes after months of environmental review, culminating in a document known as a Mitigated Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), issued by the FAA this week. The agency concluded that increasing the launch cadence from five to 25 flights per year would not significantly affect the environment under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
This decision opens the door for SpaceX to conduct Starship launches approximately every two weeks from the Boca Chica-based Starbase facility, as long as it satisfies other operational and safety requirements.
Addressing Environmental and Community Concerns
To support the increased launch activity, the FAA assessed potential impacts on wildlife, road traffic, and water usage. One key finding noted that vehicle traffic to and from the site is expected to surge—truck traffic alone could rise from 6,000 to nearly 24,000 trips per year.
To mitigate this, SpaceX is required to implement measures such as employee shuttle programs and limiting water truck deliveries to daylight hours to minimize disruption to local ecosystems.
Additionally, the FAA found that increased water consumption at the site—estimated at an additional 10.27 million gallons annually—would represent only 0.1% of Brownsville’s 2018 municipal water usage, and therefore would not affect the area’s supply.
No Launch Date Yet for Flight 9
While the regulatory green light sets the stage for more frequent launches, SpaceX is still awaiting a separate license to proceed with its next Starship mission. The company’s eighth Starship test flight ended in failure on March 6, 2025, when the upper stage broke apart during flight. The FAA is currently investigating the incident, and Flight 9 cannot proceed until that process is complete.
The upcoming mission is set to mark the first reuse of a Super Heavy booster—Booster 14, which previously flew in January 2025. The upper stage, Ship 35, has undergone test firings, though its flight readiness remains unconfirmed, with no indications from SpaceX about a possible launch date.
