FAA’s Whitaker Acknowledges SpaceX’s Starship Flight 5 Is a ‘Vital Mission,’ Struggles to Justify the 2-Month Delay

EXCERPT:

KILEY: “I guess that my concern is, and we've heard this from former FAA officials, you've heard it from both sides of the aisle, that our leadership in the commercial space industry is absolutely vital to U.S. national security, our global leadership, and yet the FAA does not seem like it's, you know, operating in a way that is conducive with continued innovation, and that this is an issue where we could have resolved whatever the issues you bring up are without delaying this entire launch by two months. Do you agree that the FAA needs to be reformed in a way that is better suited towards the type of innovation that we should be moving towards in the commercial space industry?”
WHITAKER: “Well, I -- I agree that this is a vital mission, and I think SpaceX has been a very innovative company, but I think they're also a mature company. They've been around 20 years, and I think they need to operate at the highest level of safety, and that includes adopting an SMS program, and it includes having a whistleblower program.”
KILEY: “So is there any path to moving up that launch?”
WHITAKER: “Complying with the regulations would be the best path.”