The Federal Aviation Administration published a Notice of Intent on October 14 (docket FAA-2026-12808) announcing it will prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to study the proposal.
The filing is a review, not an approval: the higher cadence is not yet authorized, and the process could stretch well into 2027 or beyond.
A two-phase ramp to airline-like cadence
The plan splits into two phases. Phase 1 covers up to 100 launches and 200 landings a year, at any day or time of the week. Phase 2 tops out at the full 456 launches and 912 landings a year, Monday through Friday only, and would arrive within several years as the vehicle matures, according to the notice.
The 912 landings count the separate returns of Starship's two stages: the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage. At full tilt that works out to roughly 1.7 launches and 3.5 landings per day — a tempo closer to a commercial airport than a rocket test site.
SpaceX is currently authorized for up to 25 orbital launches and 50 landings a year at Starbase under a 2025 tiered environmental assessment. A programmatic study is a more comprehensive review than that site-specific process, reflecting the sheer scale of what SpaceX is requesting.
What the review will weigh
The environmental review will examine noise, air quality, wildlife, coastal resources, visual effects, commercial flight paths, and — notably — socioeconomic and children's health and safety risks. The FAA assumes half of all launches and landings would occur at night, between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
SpaceX proposes that Super Heavy boosters land back at the launch site, make soft water landings in the Gulf of America, or be intentionally expended during flight. Starship upper stages would land at the site, soft-land in the Gulf or the open ocean, or be expended in the open ocean.
Public scoping comments are due November 30, 2026, and the FAA will hold public meetings before drafting the study. The only alternative the notice lists is No Action — keeping SpaceX at its current cadence.
Why SpaceX wants it
The request sets the physical pace for Elon Musk's Mars architecture. Rapidly reusable Starships flying nearly daily would support large-scale satellite deployment, lunar missions under NASA's Artemis program, and eventually Mars transportation — a cadence SpaceX argues is essential to making its off-Earth ambitions economically viable.
Investors took note: SPCX stock eased about 5% on Tuesday as the review was announced. The company reached orbit with Starship in late September, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites, and has since signaled that launch cadence — not vehicle performance — is now the main bottleneck.
Environmental groups are expected to scrutinize the proposal closely, given Starbase's proximity to sensitive coastal wetlands and wildlife refuges. But the FAA's move to a full programmatic study suggests regulators take the ambition seriously — and that Starbase's future will be decided in hearing rooms, not just on the launch pad.
By Hamza Faisal
