SpaceX asks FAA to allow up to 456 Starship launches yearly from Texas site

By the Everything Space news desk · 15 Oct 2026 · written from the sources below

Image: Space.com

The request, if approved, would vastly increase launch frequency to support Starlink and other megaconstellation plans from SpaceX's Starbase facility.

SpaceX has asked federal regulators for permission to launch its Starship rocket as many as 456 times a year from its Starbase facility in South Texas, a massive increase from the 25 launches currently permitted at the site.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is beginning an environmental review process in response to the request, including preparing an impact statement and holding public meetings before any decision is made.

Starship, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built, has flown 14 test missions so far, all from Starbase. Its most recent flight in September reached orbit and deployed a batch of Starlink satellites, marking the start of a new generation of that broadband network.

Building out SpaceX's satellite ambitions, including a much larger planned constellation, will require far more frequent launches than the program currently manages. The company has set a long-term goal of launching Starship thousands of times annually within the next several years.

The proposal outlines a phased approach, starting with up to 100 launches and 200 landings per year before eventually scaling to the full requested cadence, which would also need approval for landings of both rocket stages.

Not all future Starship launches would come from Texas, as SpaceX is also developing launch capacity in Florida and planning a large new complex in Louisiana.

The FAA will hold several public meetings next month, both in person near Starbase and virtually, to gather feedback as part of its environmental review of the proposal.

Written in Everything Space’s own words by our news-desk model from the sources above, and checked against them in code: every number in this report appears in its sources, and no sentence is copied from them.