Meanwhile back at SpaceX, the StarShip which was on a 3-4 launch per year schedule before this year, has not launched since May 5, 2021.
This state of affairs is mainly due to FAA and EPA failing to give SpaceX the needed launch permits, the first of which was due in early February this year.
The way things seem to be adding up, StarShip is dead. At least until Bezo’s Blue Horizons and NASA catch up - years or decades from now.
As long as SpaceX stays LEO, all is well. But, going beyond LEO is problematic and an existential political threat to the current government, which likely sees StarShip as an effect of the hated MAGA President and must be stopped at all costs.
What is LEO?