When is SpaceX launching its next Mars rocket Starship?

Corrective actions ordered by US authority could delay a licence the company needs for a second test flight

SpaceX Starship's full stack on its launch pad near Brownsville, Texas, on April 17. Reuters

People on horseback photograph the SpaceX Starship on its Boca Chica launch pad near Brownsville. Reuters

Outside SpaceX's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. AFP

The SpaceX Starship with a booster stands on the launch pad ahead of its flight test from Starbase. AFP

A person wears a necklace featuring Starship ahead of its flight test. AFP

A tourist takes photos of SpaceX's Starship the day before its launch. Reuters

SpaceX's Mars rocket Starship could be grounded on the pad for a while longer, as the company was ordered by a US authority on Friday to make necessary corrections before they could receive a launch licence.

The company's owner Elon Musk said last week that the rocket was “ready to launch, awaiting FAA licence approval”, with a new Starship now placed at SpaceX's Starbase pad in Boca Chica, Texas.

This would be the rocket's second test flight, after the first attempt in April failed because of a technical issue.

Engineers had to purposely blow up the rocket mid-flight when the second stage failed to separate from the booster.

Mr Musk had said at the time that the flight still gave them “plenty of data” to try again.

When is the next flight attempt?

The mishap led the US Federal Aviation Administration to launch an investigation into what went wrong.

On Friday, the FAA said that it had closed the investigation after identifying 63 corrective actions SpaceX must take to prevent issues from reoccurring.

This means SpaceX could be waiting a while longer to launch its Starship rocket, as it will have to secure a licence from the FAA first.

“The closure of the mishap investigation does not signal an immediate resumption of Starship launches at Boca Chica,” the FAA said in a statement on Friday.

“SpaceX must implement all corrective actions that impact public safety and apply for and receive a licence modification from the FAA that addresses all safety, environmental and other applicable regulatory requirements prior to the next Starship launch.”

What was SpaceX ordered to correct?

After the first orbital test flight, there were concerns over the large amount of debris that scattered in parts of the town.

The explosion also worried environmentalists, as Boca Chica is surrounded by protected lands that host local wildlife.

Chunks of Starship tumbled back to Earth after engineers ordered a “rapid unplanned disassembly” – a process that automatically disintegrates the rocket.

It had reached a peak altitude of 39 kilometres over the Gulf of Mexico when the mishap took place.

Some of the corrective actions ordered by the FAA include redesigns of vehicle hardware to prevent leaks and fires and a redesign of the launch pad to “increase its robustness”.

Why does Elon Musk want to launch Starship?

Completing an orbital test flight would help SpaceX move closer to its goal of starting commercial operations.

Starship is a two-stage rocket system that includes a booster with the spacecraft on top of it.

SpaceX claims it is the most powerful launch vehicle developed, able to produce 3,991 tonnes of thrust, 15 per cent more than Nasa’s Apollo Moon rocket Saturn V, according to the company's website.

SpaceX has been contracted by Nasa to develop the Starship Human Landing System, which would help astronauts land on the Moon under the US space agency’s Artemis programme.

But Mr Musk's long-term goal is to eventually send humans to Mars using his Starship fleets, helping to “make life multi-planetary”.

He has already sold seats on the rocket, including to Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who plans on flying the first crewed flight to the Moon, taking eight artists with him as part of his dearMoon programme.

American billionaire Jared Isaacman is also working with SpaceX through his Polaris programme, a series of privately-led space missions.

Mr Isaacman will serve as commander on the Polaris III mission, the first crewed orbital flight on the Starship rocket.