Starship looming About an hour before Echerd’s remarks during the Jan. 30 Crew-12 briefing, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the publication of a pair of documents permitting SpaceX to move forward with up to 44 launches and 88 landings annually of its Starship-Super Heavy rocket as well as construction of infrastructure to support such operations, from an environmental standpoint. The evaluation came about half a year after the FAA published a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in August 2025 and took in public comment as part of compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. “SpaceX’s activities would continue to fulfill the United States’ expectation that increased capabilities and reduced space transportation costs will enhance exploration (including within the Artemis and Human Landing System programs), support U.S. leadership in space, and make space access more affordable,” the FAA’s Record of Decision document stated. “By providing a reusable launch vehicle with increased lift capability that returns to its launch site, the Proposed Action would reduce the cost of a launch and increase efficiency, delivering greater access to space and enabling cost-effective delivery of cargo and people to the moon and Mars.” In order to execute the full realization of Starship at LC-39A, SpaceX proposed about 70,000 square meters (roughly 800,000 square feet) of infrastructure changes “to include launch and landing pads and towers, propellant generation, and stormwater/deluge ponds.” In order to comply with existing environmental laws, the FAA stated that SpaceX needs to coordinate with the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) for its water use. SpaceX is estimated to use 297 million gallons (1.1 billion liters) of water annually. “SpaceX would construct onsite bulk storage for water and commodities and would reuse or recycle as appropriate,” the FAA wrote. “Based on the analysis of potential effects […], the FAA does not anticipate significant effects to utilities and infrastructure distribution systems and service capacity.” The FAA said the Kennedy Space Center Fire Marshal and Safety Office will assess the construction of a liquified natural gas (LNG) facility. This will require additions, like “a flammable vapor gas dispersion zone [and] design sufficient to withstand wind forces without loss of structural or functional integrity.” “Until the LNG facility is constructed, commodities such as liquid oxygen and liquid methane would be trucked in by contractors,” the FAA wrote. When assessing public safety, the FAA noted that closures related to static fire tests, launches and reentries could account for nearly 10 percent of a calendar year. It estimates up to 396 hours for static fire tests and 462 hours for launches and reentries. The timing of the first launch of Starship from Florida is still up in the air, but may come as soon as the second half of 2026. During an address at the 7th Space Coast Symposium and Expo in August 2025, Dontchev assured members community members that Starship would be a proven rocket before it starts launching from the Sunshine State. “Never has there been a case where a rocket at this scale has been tested and flown as many times as it has will actually come to Florida for the first time. That’s never happened. It’s usually Florida is the test range,” Dontchev said. “The New Glenn, Artemis, all these rockets launch here for the first time, even Falcon. That’s not going to be the case with Starship. “Starship, you’re going to get a vetted machine that shows up ready to party.” The next test flight of Starship will be the debut of the third iteration of the vehicle, called Starship Version 3, which features, among other upgrades, new versions of the Raptor engines built by SpaceX. A launch date hasn’t been announced, but SpaceX founder Elon Musk said the test flight could take off from Starbase, Texas, as soon as early March.