Episode 1513: What’s a WR? How does it Affect Starship’s Next Launch Date?

So much has happened so fast in the last couple of weeks related to SpaceX’s pursuit of Starship’s Flight 2 launch license. Look at all these goings-on:

• September 10, 2023: The list of 63 corrective actions specified in the Mishap Investigation Report are published;
• September 13, 2023: Acting FAA Administrator Polly Trottenberg comments to reporters that “We’re working well with them (SpaceX) and I think we’re optimistic sometime next month,” whatever that means.
• Trottenberg also mentions that SpaceX would also need a separate environmental approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) before a launch. She didn’t say how long that might take.
• Late Friday afternoon on September 15, 2023: News from FAA that they were performing a Written Reevaluation (WR) of the 2022 Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA). The WR will evaluate all the new environmental data collected as a result of the April 20, 2023 initial test launch of Starship, and will include results of an Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation with USFWS.
• September 18, 2023: USFWS clarifies a few things about its ESA Section 7 re-initiation of the biological consultation with the FAA in a statement to@NASASpaceflight.

To try and make sense of all this, Larry and Gene are pleased to welcome back Eric Roesch (@ESGHound), who by now should be familiar to regular Talking Space listeners. Eric is an environmental engineer by trade. He is an environmental permitting expert who has written extensively about permitting-related activities related to the activities of SpaceX.

Eric, Gene and Larry will take a deep dive to provide some clarity to all the above, as well as answers to questions like:

• Is there anything new in the environmental lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and SpaceX? Does the lawsuit have any bearing on this whole WR situation?
• Do any of the 63 corrective actions resulting from the now-closed Mishap Investigation address the lack of an Industrial Wastewater Permit for the water deluge system?
• How long will FAA take to confirm that SpaceX has satisfactorily completed all the corrective actions, including the environmental aspects?
• What is a Written Reevaluation (WR)?
• Why did the FAA decide to require a WR?
• How long will the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service take to perform their consultation with the FAA?
• What are the possible outcomes of the WR, and how long will they take to resolve? What is the most likely outcome?
• What is our “SWAG estimate” as to how long before we can get an idea of when Starship will fly again?

Be sure to let us know your thoughts on the topics we discuss. You can always reach us at mailbag@TalkingSpaceOnline.com .

Contact Eric and read his writings: website: blog.esghound.com; Substack: esghound.substack.com; X/Twitter: @ESGHound; Also: Mashable story about the Bloomberg FOIA story.

Show recorded 09-19-2023.

Host: Larry Herrin

Panelist(s): Gene Mikulka (Mark Ratterman, Sawyer Rosenstein and Dr. Kat Robison will return)

Podcast Editor: Larry Herrin