# Federal Register #FAA-2026-12808

FAA environmental review of proposed SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy operations in Texas

**Posted:** October 14, 2026
**Respond By:** December 01, 2026
**Identifier:** FAA-2026-12808

The FAA is reviewing proposed changes to SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy operations at Starbase, Texas, rather than seeking goods or services.
- **Government buyer:** Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), within the U.S. Department of Transportation.
- **Applicant and OEM:** **Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)** proposes the operational changes; it is not a vendor responding to a procurement.
- **Proposal analyzed:** Up to 456 launches per year from the Boca Chica Launch Site and up to 912 landings per year there, with potential water landings and intentional vehicle expenditure also considered.
- **Environmental review:** The FAA plans a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS), including a No Action Alternative. Topics include air quality and aviation emissions, biological and coastal resources, cultural and historic resources, land use, hazardous materials and waste, noise, socioeconomic effects and children's health and safety, visual effects, and water resources.
- **Public input:** The FAA is seeking comments on the PEIS scope and content, alternatives, potential impacts, and relevant information or studies. Public scoping meetings are planned in Brownsville and Port Isabel, with an in-person open house and a virtual meeting; English-Spanish interpretation is planned for the virtual meeting.
- **Procurement status:** This is an environmental-review and public-scoping notice, not a solicitation. No products, services, quantities for purchase, or contract value are identified.

### Description

The Federal Aviation Administration intends to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) analyzing SpaceX’s proposal to increase Starship-Super Heavy launch and landing operations at the Boca Chica Launch Site at Starbase, Texas, and expand landing and expenditure locations. The analysis will evaluate up to 456 annual launches and 912 annual landings at the site, along with potential environmental impacts and a No Action Alternative. Related license modifications or renewals and temporary airspace closures are within the scope of the proposed federal action. FAA is requesting public input on the scope and content of the PEIS, with comments due November 30, 2026.

[View original listing](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/14/2026-20963/notice-of-intent-to-prepare-a-programmatic-environmental-impact-statement-peis-open-public-scoping)