According to a SpaceX executive, it is “hard to say” when Starship will be ready to become NASA’s lunar lander. He claimed various regulations prevented additional test flights. William Gerstenmaier is SpaceX’s vice president responsible for building Starship and verifying flight reliability. He told a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on Wednesday that Starship has been ready for more than a month but is still awaiting regulatory approval.
William Gerstenmaier said: “It is difficult to give a specific date.” He believes that the lag in regulatory work should not affect the company’s test flight plan.
SpaceX has been developing Starship, which could be used for space cargo and eventually to send humans to the moon and Mars. NASA has awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to use Starship to send astronauts to the moon. NASA’s current goal is to implement a manned lunar landing program in 2025, but that goal may be adjusted due to delays in development work.
At the hearing, Gerstenmaier and executives from Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic argued for a multi-year extension of an order that bars the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from imposing safety regulations on commercial human spaceflight missions.
The FAA said in a statement that it had not received an invitation to the hearing. The FAA said keeping pace with advances in the space industry has been a priority and efforts are underway to add staff.
The FAA grounded SpaceX’s Starship after its first test flight on April 20. At that time, the spacecraft’s two-stage rocket failed to separate as planned and lost control, causing SpaceX to destroy the spacecraft. The launch damaged SpaceX’s launch pad, scattering debris from the spacecraft and powdered concrete on nearby land.
The hearing comes as SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin work to increase the number of launches of spaceflight equipment and the number of people participating in space tourism and other activities. U.S. aviation safety regulators and Congress are grappling with how to regulate the nascent industry.
The hearing also discussed ways to streamline the FAA’s launch licensing process and provide the FAA with more resources for commercial space flight.
Gerstenmaier said there are many technical hurdles SpaceX needs to overcome to turn Starship into a true lunar lander. The company is eager to conduct more flight tests to learn more about the spacecraft.
“We need to test as quickly as possible, find the issues and fix them, and then fly again,” Gerstenmaier said. “We can’t be held back by regulations.”
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