Credit: SpaceX CAPE CANAVERAL—SpaceX has launched a public relations campaign to protest the FAA’s probe into alleged environmental lapses during Starship-Super Heavy flight tests in Boca Chica Beach, Texas, an investigation the company says is delaying licensing for its upcoming launch. In a statement posted on SpaceX’s website, social media accounts and emailed to reporters, SpaceX says it has been ready to launch the fifth Starship-Super Heavy Integrated Flight Test (IFT-5) since early August, but the FAA has not issued it a license to fly. “We continue to be stuck in a reality where it takes longer to do the government paperwork to license a rocket launch than it does to design and build the actual hardware,” SpaceX wrote. “This should never happen and directly threatens America’s position as the leader in space. “Our approach of putting flight hardware in the flight environment as often as possible maximizes the pace at which we can learn recursively and operationalize the system,” it added. “This is the same approach that unlocked reuse on our Falcon fleet of rockets and made SpaceX the leading launch provider in the world today.” What prompted SpaceX’s public retort was an update from the FAA that agency approval to fly IFT-5 was not expected until late November, a delay of two months from previous estimates, the company said. “This delay was not based on a new safety concern, but instead driven by superfluous environmental analysis,” SpaceX said. For example, the company takes issue with reports that Starship’s water-cooled steel flame deflector is polluting the environment or has operated without a permit. It also questions the need for a 60-day consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service to assess the splashdown location of the Starship-Super Heavy hot fire ring, which allows the second stage to ignite while the first stage continues firing. The slight shift in location from IFT-4 “produces no increase in likelihood for impacting marine life,” SpaceX said. “The mechanics of these types of consultations outline that any new questions raised during that time can reset the 60-day counter, over and over again. This single issue, which was already exhaustively analyzed, could indefinitely delay launch without addressing any plausible impact to the environment.” SpaceX’s statement, titled “Starships Are Meant To Fly” can be found online.