SpaceX Lists Starship Upgrades Ahead Of Second Flight Test: Will Upgrades Meet FAA Standards?

Elon Musk‘s rocket manufacturing company SpaceX on Friday detailed the changes made to its Starship ahead of its second flight test.

What Happened: SpaceX has implemented leak mitigations and improved testing on both engine and booster hardware, the company said in a statement.

The rocket manufacturer also expanded Super Heavy’s pre-existing fire suppression system and upgraded the vehicle to use a separation method called hot-staging, during which Starship’s second stage engines will ignite to push the ship away from the booster.

SpaceX conducted the first test launch of Starship on April 20. The rocket exploded in less than four minutes after takeoff, damaging the launch pad at Starbase and raining down dust on the residents of Port Isabel, Texas.

In order to mitigate the risks of damage to the launch pad moving forward, the company made reinforcements to the pad foundation and added a flame deflector, it said.

Why It Matters: On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, completed its probe into the explosion of the Starship during its first flight test and instructed the company to take 63 corrective measures.

The closure of the investigation, however, does not signal an immediate resumption of Starship launches at Boca Chica. The initial launch license procured by SpaceX authorized it to conduct just one launch, and the company will now have to apply for a modification of the license to allow for more launches.

While applying for a modification, SpaceX will also have to demonstrate that it has implemented corrective measures.

Earlier this week, Musk said that Starship — a major part of his dreams of making life "multi-planetary" by enabling human and cargo travel to Mars — is ready to launch and now merely awaiting FAA license approval for its second flight test.

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Image created with artificial intelligence on MidJourney and Official SpaceX Photos on Flickr