SpaceX Files Paperwork for Starship Maiden Voyage

Will Starship Mk1 be ready for its launch debut in October?

Filing Paperwork

SpaceX is gearing up for its biggest launch yet.

The company filed paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission, requesting permission to communicate with the upcoming first generation of its Starship spacecraft up to an altitude of 22.5 km (74,000 feet) at its South Texas launch site.

According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the first test flight of the next-gen craft could take place as soon as October.

Ambitious Timeline

That's an extremely ambitious timeline, as Teslarati points out, considering it took the Federal Aviation Administration three weeks to permit a 200 meter hop of SpaceX's Starhopper test vehicle.

Meanwhile, images uploaded to Twitter suggest that crews at SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas site are hard at work assembling the company's first full-scale Starship prototype.

A New Pad

The news comes after a Business Insider report suggested last week that SpaceX is requesting persmission to upgrade the site for the launch of its Starship prototypes, including plans for a commercial spaceport and a massive water suppression system.

SpaceX's launch pad at its Boca Chica facility will no doubt have to endure some enormous forces. In July, Musk confirmed that Starship's Super Heavy booster — the rocket that'll get the already massive Starship off the ground and into orbit — will feature 35 Raptor engines.

READ MORE: SpaceX files Starship flight debut paperwork, preps for launch pad upgrades [Teslarati]

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