The Federal Aviation Administration approved a license on Saturday for the launch of SpaceX's Starship 5 set for Sunday after earlier saying it did not expect to make a decision until late November.

The FAA gave Elon Musk’s SpaceX a license to move forward with a test flight that will try to catch a rocket booster between two metal pincers known as “chopsticks.”

SpaceX is on the verge of launching its fifth Integrated Flight Test (IFT-5) of the Starship rocket, which could take place as early as Sunday, October 13, 2024, pending regulatory approval. After months of preparation and delays caused by licensing issues with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),

The FAA said requirements have been met for the next launch. The company has criticized the length of reviews.

SpaceX launched Starship for its fifth flight test at about 8:25AM ET from its South Texas launch site. The company succeeded in returning the Starship Super Heavy booster to its landing pad, where it was “caught” using arms on the launch tower that SpaceX refers to as the “chopsticks.”

The Federal Aviation Administration approved the license on Saturday for the launch of Starship Flight 5. The launch window begins at 7 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13th. The FAA previously targeted SpaceX’s next test flight for mid-September but moved it back more than two months later due to “superfluous environmental analysis.

The next Starship launch by SpaceX will be Starship Flight 5, a test flight that is currently scheduled to blast off no earlier than Sunday, Oct. 13, at 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), pending final FAA approvals. Starship Flight 5 will attempt SpaceX's first return to launch site and capture of the Super Heavy booster.

E lon Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, says it plans to launch the fifth test flight of its Starship rocket as soon as October 13th. If America’s Federal Aviation Administration