Green light go: SpaceX receives a launch license from the FAA for Starship

Enlarge / SpaceX's Booster 4 is lifted onto its orbital launch mount in South Texas. (credit: Elon Musk/Twitter)

On Friday afternoon—after much angst and anxious waiting by the spaceflight community—the Federal Aviation Administration issued a launch license to SpaceX for the launch of its Starship rocket from South Texas.

"After a comprehensive license evaluation process, the FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy, payload, airspace integration and financial responsibility requirements," the agency said in a statement. "The license is valid for five years."

Receiving this federal safety approval is the final regulatory step the company needed to take before being cleared to fly the largest rocket ever built. Now, the only constraints to launch are technical issues with the rocket or its ground systems. SpaceX is expected to hold a final readiness review this weekend before deciding to proceed with a launch attempt.