April 10, 2023 is listed as the date of the planned orbital flight of the SpaceX Starship in a flight safety document, published on the website of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). April 11-12, 2023 are proposed as backup dates.

On the other hand, SpaceX Starship has still not received the necessary FAA licenses, without which the launch is simply impossible. Also, as pointed out by Ars Technica science editor Eric Berger, even if SpaceX gets FAA license, there is a high likelihood of a civil lawsuit regarding environmental issues immediately after the launch license is issued. In that case, the judge has the authority to issue a temporary flight test ban pending resolution of this lawsuit.

This is not the first case of controversy between SpaceX and environmentalists regarding Starbase. The point is that near Boca Chica, Texas, there is a wildlife sanctuary and a state park, both of which environmentalists believe have fragile ecosystems that could be destroyed by the spaceport’s activities. And while the FAA last summer released its own environmental assessment of Starbase and the Starship test program, finding that SpaceX’s plans would not result in significant environmental impacts, the federal agency is requiring the company to implement a series of measures to mitigate the effects of the launches.

As a reminder, the first orbital flight of Starship 24 and SuperHeavy Booster 7 includes one incomplete orbit around the Earth with the landing of Starship 24 in the Pacific Ocean near the island of Kauai (Hawaii). SuperHeavy Booster 7 is supposed to land in the Gulf of Mexico, about 30 km from the launch site.

Although Starship has never been to space, SpaceX has a number of Starship launches planned for 2023-2024.