From 5 to 25: Musk gets his way as Starship is cleared for many more test flights

Elon Musk plans to go extremely big with his Starship mega rocket next year, and won't have any trouble doing so. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will allow SpaceX to launch a whopping 25 Starships in 2025, a massive change over the current five. 

The FAA released a draft environmental assessment (EA) of Starship operations at Starbase, SpaceX's facility in South Texas on Wednesday (Nov 20). According to it, Musk can have 25 Starships lift off from Starbase in 2025. It also allows the company to continue increasing the size and power of the Super Heavy booster stage and Starship upper stage.

The company had asked the FAA to approve the request to boost the number of annual Starship liftoffs from Starbase. 

Additional approvals include 25 landings for its Super Heavy booster and "Ship" upper stage back at Starbase. The FAA is responsible for regulating the launch of rockets from the United States and ensuring that people and property on the ground remain safe.

Starship has launched a total of six times to date, with the most recent one happening on November 19. It was a success, although the chopsticks manoeuvre could not happen because of a communications issue. The Super Heavy booster was diverted and performed a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

Also Read: Delhi to San Francisco aboard a Starship in under an hour? Musk has plans, reports suggest

Musk has been quite critical of the FAA and its regulations for the rocket industry, saying that Starship has not been able to make much progress. However, now that Donald Trump will become the president of the country, Musk's plans are expected to take flight. 

Starship launches can go into hundreds soon

The report outlines that the FAA and other agencies reviewed the environmental impact of Starship and were satisfied with the steps taken by SpaceX. It reviewed air quality, climate, water, noise, wildlife, and other impacts of the launches. All measures were found to be sufficient to let the company boost its launches.

SpaceX can also increase the number of launches in the coming years. 

Musk has been assigned to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Trump, a non-official part of the administration. He also invested heavily in his election campaign and even appeared at campaign rallies. 

With the permission to conduct more launches, SpaceX also plans to ramp up the production of Starship. Reports suggest that it might produce one Starship every eight hours.

While the FAA has given it a clean chit over environmental concerns, experts say that each launch is trashing Texas. An NPR report stated that the company discharged tens of thousands of gallons of "industrial wastewater" into the environment.

A test flight detonated unexpectedly after launch in November 2023 and reportedly made a hole in the upper atmosphere.