Elon Musk and SpaceX are beefing with regulators over Starship’s launch delay

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas.

SpaceX and Elon Musk are beefing with regulators over the next launch of Starship, the rocket Musk plans to use to take humans to Mars.

In a post on SpaceX’s website on Tuesday, the rocket firm blasted regulatory delays from the Federal Aviation Administration that it said would push back the next launch of Starship to late November.

Space X said Starship has been ready to launch since the first week of August and warned that the move threatens the US’s dominance over the space industry.

SpaceX said it now expects to receive a license to launch from the FAA in late November rather than September as expected, a decision it criticized as driven by “superfluous environmental analysis.”

SpaceX founder Elon Musk also slammed the decision, warning it may jeopardize his ambitious plans to colonize the red planet.

“We will never get humanity to Mars if this continues,” wrote Musk in a post on X. The billionaire said earlier this month that he expected the first uncrewed Starship flights to Mars to take place in two years, with crewed flights following two years after.

In a statement to B-17, FAA spokesperson Steven Kulm confirmed a final license determination for Starship’s fifth flight is not expected before late November.

He added that SpaceX had chosen to modify the vehicle configuration and mission profile of the flight, which triggered a more in-depth review.

“In addition, SpaceX submitted new information in mid-August detailing how the environmental impact of Flight 5 will cover a larger area than previously reviewed. This requires the FAA to consult with other agencies,” said Kulm.

The regulator is racing to keep up with SpaceX’s rapid launch pace, with executive Daniel Murray telling an aerospace summit on Wednesday that 80% of overtime logged by the FAA’s space division concerns SpaceX, in comments reported by Bloomberg.

SpaceX said the licensing process for the Starship launch had been “repeatedly derailed” by issues “ranging from the frivolous to the patently absurd.”

In recent months, the rocket company has faced scrutiny over its impact on the environment. CNBC reported in August that regulators in Texas had found that SpaceX had repeatedly released pollutants into nearby bodies of water.

SpaceX denied this was the case in its blog post on Tuesday.

The company did not respond to a request for comment, sent outside normal working hours.