Further complicating SpaceX's timeline are renewed concerns and legal issues about the massive rocket's impacts on the environment around its Boca Chica Beach launch site.
The tech mogul has said the launch could happen as soon as the first week of August and SpaceX moved the next Super Heavy booster to its launch pad Tuesday, a sign of continued flight preparations.
Although the launch license the Federal Aviation Administration issued before Starship's fourth flight last month remains in effect, it only applies to launches with the same configuration and flight profile. That means SpaceX would need new approval to try to land the booster at Starbase.
"If SpaceX decides to change the mission profile or make other changes that affect the safety analyses, it will need to request a license modification," an FAA spokesman said Tuesday via email.
How soon the FAA could issue such a modification depends on factors including the completeness of the company's application, the significance of changes in the mission, how those changes affect public safety and how promptly SpaceX responds to FAA requests for additional information, the spokesman said.
SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment about its plans for Starship's next flight
Landing at 'Mechazilla'
The company's long-term plans are to land and reuse both parts of the Starship system — the Super Heavy lower-stage booster and Starship spacecraft.
The ability to reuse as much of a spacecraft as possible makes getting to space much less expensive, enables quick turnarounds and has been a central part of SpaceX's success.
Its Falcon 9 rockets fly from Florida or California every few days. According to SpaceX, of 352 Falcon 9 launches there have been 309 successful landings and 283 flights involving previously flown rockets.
While SpaceX has mastered landing and reusing its Falcon 9s, work remains on Starship and Super Heavy. The company landed a Starship at its Boca Chica Beach launch site in May 2021 but the booster has yet to land on solid ground.
During Starship's fourth test flight in June, the booster descended from space after separating from Starship and made a soft touchdown in the Gulf of Mexico. In a company video, the craft's grid fins could be seen adjusting as the craft descends through the atmosphere. Several of its engines slow its descent, and it appeared to land on the Gulf before falling over.
"The booster's flight ended with a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico seven minutes and 24 seconds into the flight," SpaceX said on its website.
Since then, the company has said it plans to land the next Super Heavy at its launch tower, which Musk has nicknamed "Mechazilla."
The tower has two arms near its top that are meant to grab the booster from the sky as it descends toward the pad. Known as "chopsticks," the giant arms are designed to gently lower Super Heavy onto its base.
At the end of the company video of flight four highlights, a rendering teases the fifth flight, depicting Super Heavy descending toward the launch tower with the words "Next up" and "Flight 5."
Broken eggs
The FAA license modification might be the least of SpaceX's issues in the run-up to flight five.
The nonprofit Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program published a report in June that found Starship's fourth flight damaged or destroyed at least nine shorebird nests that were from 820 to 1,400 feet from the launch platform.
The report echoes similar findings after Starship's first flight in April 2023 and revived concerns about Starship's environmental impact on the sensitive wildlife area.
Only five of 22 Wilson's plover and least tern eggs that were found ahead of the launch remained intact after the mission. The others were gone or broken, with cracks and holes from debris.
The nests were on public land managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. That agency has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's office of law enforcement is investigating the nest damage, an agency spokeswoman said in an email. It's looking into whether the commercial space company violated environmental laws, including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The international law prohibits killing protected migratory bird species without the Fish and Wildlife Service's authorization.
Under the Endangered Species Act, some populations of snowy plovers are considered a "near threatened" species. The Texas population is not among them. Both the snowy and Wilson's plovers are, however, considered "species of greatest conservation need" under the State Wildlife Action Plan managed by the Parks and Wildlife Department.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has not said how long its investigation will take, and the FAA has not commented on whether it will affect licensing for the upcoming launch.
The company is embroiled in multiple lawsuits regarding beach closures and the federal review processes that allowed frequent launches of the world's most powerful rocket from a wildlife preserve.
Also, SaveRGV, a South Texas environmental group, sent SpaceX a letter of intent to sue for alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act involving unauthorized discharges from launches and static fires.
The group has said it intends to file the lawsuit as soon as the first week of August, which is around when Musk has said the rocket could launch.
On Tuesday, Musk joked on social media about the damage to the bird nests with a reference to the adage about having to break some eggs to make an omelette.
He wrote: "To make up for this heinous crime, I will refrain from having omelette for a week."
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