SpaceX Said To Be Planning Starship Test Flight Soon Amid FAA Approval Delay

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk-owned SpaceX plans to conduct a test flight for the massive Starship rocket from Texas sometime over the next two months, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing company president Gwynne Shotwell.

What Happened: SpaceX is currently awaiting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to launch the Starship flight.

The FAA last week for the fourth time delayed its environmental review of SpaceX’s Starship rocket program in Texas.

The private space company had last week said it expects to complete that review by the end of this month. 

Shotwell did not provide any further details related to the test flight, as per the report.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment.

See Also: Elon Musk Says SpaceX's Starship Orbital Likely In May Despite Pending Regulatory Approval: Here's Why

Why It Matters: Musk about two months ago said Starship’s orbital debut from the Boca Chica launch site in Texas was likely to take place in May.

The billionaire entrepreneur said SpaceX is currently building 39 flight-worthy Raptor 2 engines that will be ready by next month, following which it will take another month to integrate them with the reusable, 400-foot tall Starship rocket.

Musk dreams of colonizing Mars and has been working towards building a rocket that can transport human and commercial cargo to space.

Photo by Jared Krahn on Wikimedia