Elon Musk’s SpaceX has attained authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly its massive Starship rocket once again, the space regulator announced Friday.
The Starship rocket broke up during the company’s seventh test flight in January. The explosion caused debris to rain down over Turks and Caicos, and forced several commercial flights to be diverted or delayed, CNBC previously reported.
The FAA granted the modified license to SpaceX, which has a $350 billion private market valuation, even though the company has yet to complete its mishap investigation, required after the January explosion. The space regulator has previously authorized flights by companies including SpaceX and Rocket Lab while mishap investigations were still underway, a spokesperson told CNBC by email.
Last year, the FAA fined SpaceX $633,009 in civil penalties for what it alleged were safety and procedural violations in the lead-up to two 2023 launches. SpaceX was also fined by the Environmental Protection Agency for polluting waters in Texas in violation of the Clean Water Act.
After those fines, Musk threatened to sue the FAA for “regulatory overreach” but never filed a complaint.
Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, contributed nearly $300 million to help propel President Donald Trump back to the White House, and is now a central figure in the administration.
Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla and the owner of social media company X, leads the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is implementing draconian staffing and budget cuts across the federal government, and targeting regulatory agencies that oversee Musk’s businesses.
The role has afforded Musk and his DOGE staffers unprecedented access to federal computer systems and data including within the FAA. SpaceX has been selected to help overhaul the FAA’s air traffic control system, Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy previously announced.
Senators Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., sent a letter on Friday to FAA’s acting administrator Chris Rocheleau, raising concerns about conflicts of interest.
SpaceX did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Starship, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever launched, is critical to SpaceX’s ambitions. When it is stacked on the Super Heavy booster, Starship stands 403 feet tall and is about 30 feet in diameter. SpaceX has flown the full Starship rocket system on seven spaceflight tests so far since April 2023.
The company wrote in a social media post that it aims to conduct its eighth Starship test flight as soon as Monday, March 3.
