The FAA said Tuesday that it pushed the target date to June 13 "to account for ongoing interagency consultations."
It was the fifth time the FAA has delayed completion of the environmental review since closing its public comment period in November. The agency has said it was taking more time to work through more than 17,000 comments it received and to consider changes made by SpaceX.
The latest postponement put an official end to SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk's goal to launch the Starship into orbit from South Texas in May. In March, he said, "We'll have 39 flight-worthy engines built by next month, then another month to integrate, so hopefully May for orbital flight test."
Founded by Musk in 2002, California-based SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches reusable rockets and spacecraft with the goals of reaching the moon and Mars.
In Texas, it has built out its Starbase launch facility in Boca Chica, near Brownsville in the Rio Grande Valley. The company also has a rocket development facility in McGregor, near Waco.
The FAA in September released a 151-page draft environmental review that looked at the possible environmental effects of SpaceX's mission profile and debris recovery, local road closings in Boca Chica and other issues. The agency has also been reviewing SpaceX's plans to build a natural gas power plant, solar farm and parking lots on the campus.
The FAA has noted that completing the environmental review does not guarantee issuance of a vehicle operator license, which the agency could grant after considering requirements for safety, risk and financial responsibility.
In February, Musk told SpaceX employees, fans and reporters at Starbase that he is "highly confident" his company would send the Starship into orbit by year's end.
If the FAA delayed its environmental review, he said, the company would likely move the launch to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. There, the company already has approval for a Starship takeoff.
"Our worst-case scenario is that we would be delayed for six to eight months to build up the Cape launch tower and launch from there," he said at the time.
The FAA delayed its review in March and then again in April, saying " SpaceX made multiple changes to its application that require additional FAA analysis." It remains unclear what SpaceX changed in its permit application to fly the 400-foot-tall Starship vehicle into orbit from Starbase.
Community and environmental groups in the Valley have opposed SpaceX's plans to expand the Starbase campus.
But Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez has lauded SpaceX for employing more than 1,600 workers based at the Starbase campus, saying the company is the city's "largest private employer." About 71 percent of the workers are from the Valley.
SpaceX invested $430 million in operations last year in Cameron County, including payroll, construction and capital improvements, the mayor said during his state of the city address in April. The company is expected to contribute $885 million in gross economic output and job growth for the county by year's end.
© 2022 the San Antonio Express-News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
