--- title: "SpaceX Files Paperwork for Starship Maiden Voyage" description: "SpaceX filed paperwork with the FCC yesterday, requesting permission to communicate with its first generation Starship up to an altitude of 22.5 km." date: "2019-09-10" modified: "2019-09-10" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-files-paperwork-starship-launch" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # SpaceX Files Paperwork for Starship Maiden Voyage ![SpaceX filed paperwork with the FCC yesterday, requesting permission to communicate with its first generation Starship up to an altitude of 22.5 km.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## 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]() \[*Teslarati*\] **More on Starship:** *[SpaceX Working With NASA to Find Mars Landing Sites for Starship]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()