Elon Musk's SpaceX has revealed the date the company believes it will be ready to attempt to launch the world's biggest rocket for the second time after the first effort saw Starship explode into flames.
SpaceX has filed a permit with the Federal Communications Commission requesting authorisation for operation as soon as June 15 - but anytime until December 15.
According to the FCC application, the mission will involve the launch of the entire Starship vehicle, including the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage.
The mission, which would launch from Boca Chica in Texas, involves the Super Heavy booster flying back to the Gulf of Mexico, touching down 495 seconds after liftoff.
The Starship's upper stage will achieve orbit before landing in the Pacific Ocean northwest of the Hawaiian island of Kauai around 90 minutes after launch.
However, SpaceX must obtain a license from the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation before the launch can take place.
The application did not specify when the launch would take place, beyond a six-month "requested period of operation" starting on June 15.
However, the launch is subject to regulatory approval from the FAA, which is conducting an ongoing environmental assessment of Starship/Super Heavy launch operations from Boca Chica.
The FAA has not given a schedule for completing the assessment, but the public will have an opportunity to comment on the draft assessment, which will recommend whether the FAA needs to prepare a more detailed environmental impact statement.
The FCC application notes that SpaceX will perform a "powered, targeted landing" but not on any kind of ship.
The company aims to collect as much data as possible during flight to better understand what the vehicle experiences in a flight regime that is difficult to predict or replicate computationally.
The data will then anchor any changes in vehicle design or concept of operations after the first flight and build better models for internal simulations.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk explained in a tweet that the company plans to make a "soft ocean landing" to avoid hazards should the vehicle not survive reentry.
However, the application did not state if the booster would land on a platform, such as an oil rig, or splash down into the ocean.
