BOCA CHICA, Texas — SpaceX has cleared its final regulatory hurdle for the next Starship flight after the Federal Aviation Administration formally closed its investigation into the Flight 12 booster anomaly, accepting the company's corrective actions and clearing the vehicle for a July 16 liftoff.
The decision resets the countdown for the most powerful rocket ever built and confirms a 90-minute window that opens at 6:45 p.m. ET (5:45 p.m. CT) on Thursday from Pad 2 at Starbase. The revised date slips two days from an earlier provisional July 14 target, giving teams extra margin to finish licensing and range work.
What the Investigation Found
The FAA's final mishap report identified two most probable root causes for the loss of Super Heavy Booster 19 during the boostback phase of Flight 12. Investigators pointed to heat effects on propulsion-system components during ascent and to erroneous engine-alarm settings that shut engines down before the boostback burn could finish.
A sequence change in the ship's engines, which ignite before the two halves physically separate in the maneuver known as hot staging, contributed to a roughly 90-degree orientation error after separation. Five of the booster's 33 Raptor engines then failed to relight, cutting the boostback burn short. The upper stage, by contrast, performed well, and Flight 12 was largely a success apart from the booster recovery.
SpaceX implemented four corrective actions spanning hardware and software configuration updates, and the FAA said the company may proceed once remaining safety and licensing requirements are met. The rapid turnaround underscores how the Starship program has moved from record static fires to flight readiness in a matter of weeks.
