SpaceX’s Starship Test Is Tantalizingly Close Show FAA & NASA Placeholders!

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SpaceX's Starship rocket is heading towards a highly anticipated orbital test flight later this month. The company has been developing the rocket for more than a year at its test facilities in Boca Chica, Texas, and an orbital test flight is one of the final steps before Starship can become operational. While testing picked up the pace earlier this year in the form of fiery static fires that saw the world's most powerful rocket under development fire up most of its engines, since then, it's been quiet on the SpaceX front as the company carefully weighs its options to ensure that Starship does fly when a test does occur.

However, placeholders from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suggest that the earliest possible attempt at an orbital test flight might occur as soon as next week.

Before SpaceX can fly its 394 feet tall rocket to orbit, the firm has to first secure a new license from the FAA. This is because SpaceX's current launch license only allows for suborbital launches, similar to the tests conducted in 2020 and 2021. Since details on FAA license applications are seldom made public, it's only speculation to wager when a grant might occur - but whispers on the street suggest that approval might be headed SpaceX's way.

The rumors are further 'boosted' by two interesting new developments - one from NASA and the other from the FAA. For high profile events, such as capsules returning from space, NASA often uses its WB-57 aircraft to monitor the spacecraft. The WB-57 is a bomber-turned-observation plane, and the