A launch window contained in a Federal Aviation Administration regional airspace advisory points to a possible Starship Flight 8 from Boca Chica as early as next week, though the advisory’s launch window covers several days through March 6.
The launch window opens Feb. 26 at 5:30 a.m. and closes at 7:09 p.m. Feb. 26 is designated as the “primary launch date,” though backup launch dates of Feb. 27-28, and March 1-6, also are listed with the same hours.
SpaceX’s Starship Flight 7 on Jan. 16 ended with Starship S33 exploding over the Caribbean after losing half its engines about eight and half minutes after liftoff from Boca Chica. The disintegrating prototype rained pieces over the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory 90 miles north of Haiti and 1,600 miles east of Boca Chica.
The rocket was supposed to land in the Indian Ocean near the coast of Australia.
The FAA was forced to temporarily ground flights or reroute air traffic around what it designated the “Debris Response Area.” There were some incidents of property damage but no injuries were reported. The FAA announced after the incident that it was required to conduct a mishap inquiry, led by SpaceX and overseen by the agency.
The FAA will not allow the company to move forward with its eighth suborbital Starship flight (Flight 8) until the mishap investigation is closed. An FAA spokesman told The Brownsville Herald on Friday that the investigation is ongoing.
On Friday afternoon, Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. announced the closure of Boca Chica Beach and S.H. 4 near SpaceX for “flight testing activities” on Feb. 26 between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. The alternate dates are Feb. 27-28, also 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
On Feb. 23, SpaceX conducted a long-duration static-fire test of Starship S24 in preparation for Flight 8.