88338 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 216 / Thursday, November 7, 2024 / Notices 

Total Annual ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’ 

Cost: None identified. Filings are 

submitted electronically to the Board. 

Needs and Uses: This collection 

shows the balance, quarterly and 

cumulative, for the current and prior 

year of the carrier’s assets and liabilities, 

gross capital expenditures, and revenue 

tons carried. See 49 CFR 1243.2. The 

Board uses the information in this 

report to ensure competitive, efficient, 

and safe transportation through general 

oversight programs that monitor and 

forecast the financial and operating 

condition of railroads, and through 

specific regulation of railroad rate and 

service issues and rail restructuring 

proposals, including railroad mergers, 

consolidations, acquisitions of control, 

and abandonments. Information from 

these reports is used by the Board, other 

Federal agencies, and industry groups to 

assess industry growth and operations, 

detect changes in carrier financial 

stability, and identify trends that may 

affect the national transportation 

system. Revenue ton-miles, which are 

reported in these reports, are compiled 

and published by the Board in its 

quarterly Selected Earnings Data Report, 

which is published on the Board’s 

website, https://www.stb.gov/stb/ 

industry/econ_reports.html. The 

reformatted form and instructions may 

be viewed at https://www.stb.gov/wpcontent/uploads/Condensed-BalanceSheet.csv and https://www.stb.gov/wpcontent/uploads/Instructions-forCondensed-Balance-Sheet.pdf, 

respectively. It should be noted that the 

form for this report has been reformatted 

in a way that should allow for more 

efficient submission and agency 

processing, but the information has not 

changed. The form continues to contain 

all of the same data elements. The 

information contained in this report is 

not available from any other source. 

Under the PRA, a federal agency that 

conducts or sponsors a collection of 

information must display a currently 

valid OMB control number. A collection 

of information, which is defined in 44 

U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c), 

includes agency requirements that 

persons submit reports, keep records, or 

provide information to the agency, third 

parties, or the public. Section 3507(b) of 

the PRA requires, concurrent with an 

agency’s submitting a collection to OMB 

for approval, a 30-day notice and 

comment period through publication in 

the Federal Register concerning each 

proposed collection of information, 

including each proposed extension of an 

existing collection of information. 

Dated: October 1, 2024. 

Kenyatta Clay, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2024–25867 Filed 11–6–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY 

Sunshine Act Meetings 

TIME AND DATE: 9 a.m. CT on November 

7, 2024. 

PLACE: Curris Center, Murray, Kentucky. 

STATUS: Open. 

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: 

Meeting No. 24–04 

The TVA Board of Directors will hold 

a public meeting on November 7 at the 

Curris Center on the campus of Murray 

State University, 1415 Chestnut Street, 

Murray, Kentucky. The meeting will be 

called to order at 9 a.m. CT to consider 

the agenda items listed below. TVA 

management will answer questions from 

the news media following the Board 

meeting. 

On November 6, at the Curris Center, 

the public may comment on any agenda 

item or subject at a Board-hosted public 

listening session which begins at 2 p.m. 

CT and will last until 4:00 p.m. 

Preregistration is required to address the 

Board. 

Agenda 

1. Approval of Minutes of the August 

22, 2024 Board Meeting 

2. Report of the People and Governance 

Committee 

A. FY24 and FY25 Performance and 

Compensation 

3. Report of the Audit, Risk, and 

Cybersecurity Committee 

4. Report of the Operations and Nuclear 

Oversight Committee 

5. Report of the External Stakeholders 

and Regulation Committee 

A. Greater than 100 MW firm power 

arrangement with CTC Property 

LLC (xAI) 

6. Report of the Finance, Rates, and 

Portfolio Committee 

7. Information Items 

A. Natural Gas Transportation 

Capacity Contract 

B. Incentive Metrics 

C. Amended TVA Board Practice 

Capital Projects Approvals 

8. Report from President and CEO 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

For more information: Please call 

Ashton Davies, TVA Media Relations at 

(865) 632–6000, Knoxville, Tennessee. 

Anyone who wishes to comment on any 

of the agenda in writing may send their 

comments to: TVA Board of Directors, 

Board Agenda Comments, 400 West 

Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, 

Tennessee 37902. 

Dated: October 31, 2024. 

Edward C. Meade, 

Agency Liaison. 

[FR Doc. 2024–25932 Filed 11–5–24; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 8120–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Waiver of Launch Collective Risk Limit 

for a Near-Orbital Trajectory 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice of waiver. 

SUMMARY: This notice concerns a 

petition for waiver submitted to the 

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

by Space Exploration Technologies 

Corporation (SpaceX) to waive the 

launch collective risk limit of 1 × 10¥4

expected casualties (Ec) for Starship 

Super Heavy missions that utilize a 

near-orbital trajectory. The near-orbital 

Starship Super Heavy missions have 

been deemed suborbital such that a 

single launch collective risk limit of 1 

× 10¥4 Ec has been applied to cover the 

aggregate of the risks from the suborbital 

launch and suborbital reentry phases of 

each mission. The SpaceX petition 

requests an increase to the collective 

risk limit, to not exceed 2 × 10¥4 Ec, 

with the condition that neither the 

suborbital launch nor suborbital reentry 

risks exceed 1 × 10¥4 Ec individually. 

The FAA grants the petition for nearorbital Starship Super Heavy missions 

to allow a risk budget that parallels but 

remains consistent with an orbital 

mission profile that has a separate risk 

limit of 1 × 10¥4 Ec for both the launch 

and reentry phases. 

DATES: Issued in Washington, DC, on 

July 31, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

technical questions concerning this 

waiver, contact Paul Wilde, Senior 

Technical Specialist, Commercial Space 

Transportation—Office of Operational 

Safety, 800 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 

267–5727; email: paul.wilde@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On April 18, 2024, SpaceX submitted 

a waiver petition to the Federal Aviation 

Administration’s (FAA’s) Office of 

Commercial Space Transportation (AST) 

requesting relief from 14 CFR 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 216 / Thursday, November 7, 2024 / Notices 88339 

450.101(a)(1)(i) for a unique near-orbital 

trajectory SpaceX designed for the 

initial Starship Super Heavy launches 

from Boca Chica in Texas. SpaceX 

requested an increase to the collective 

risk criteria, to not exceed 2 × 10¥4 Ec, 

with neither suborbital launch nor 

suborbital reentry risks exceeding 1 × 

10¥4 Ec. SpaceX requested that the 

waiver be effective for Starship Super 

Heavy launches starting with Flight 4 

and beyond that utilize a near-orbital 

trajectory, where the maximum perigee 

altitude is less than +130 km and greater 

than ¥50 km. Additionally, SpaceX 

requested a waiver of the 60-day 

requirement for submission of waiver 

petitions per § 404.5(a). SpaceX updated 

its request on May 17, 2024. with 

additional rationale to support the 

waiver petition. On June 4, 2024, the 

FAA notified SpaceX that the waiver 

request was still under evaluation and 

there would be no determination prior 

to the planned launch of Flight 4 on 

June 6, 2024. SpaceX requested the FAA 

consider the waiver for the next flight, 

namely Flight 5. The request to waive 

the procedural requirements set forth in 

§ 404.5(a) is no longer applicable as 

SpaceX since requested the waiver to 

apply starting with Flight 5. 

Near-Orbital Trajectory of Starship 

Super Heavy Missions 

SpaceX’s initial developmental test 

missions are for launches conducted on 

a near-orbital trajectory, where the 

nominal trajectory does not achieve 

orbital insertion as defined in § 401.7.1

Therefore, the FAA has considered each 

mission a suborbital launch that 

includes a suborbital reentry, and has 

applied a single launch collective risk 

limit of 1 × 10¥4 Ec in accordance with 

§ 450.101(a)(1)(i). Per § 450.3(b)(3)(iii), 

for a suborbital launch that includes a 

suborbital reentry, launch ends after 

reaching apogee. 

The Ec criteria identified in § 450.101 

apply to flight. SpaceX, in its waiver 

petition, divides the phases of Starship 

Super Heavy flight into two distinct 

phases. First, SpaceX identifies the 

launch phase 2 to be from ignition of the 

Super Heavy booster (first stage) to the 

initial second engine cutoff (SECO–1) of 

the Starship upper stage. In addition, 

the launch phase includes stage 

separation, followed by the Super Heavy 

booster performing a boostback burn to 

return to the launch site or a designated 

landing area offshore. After stage 

separation, Starship ignites its engines 

until SECO–1. Due to the shallow 

perigee of the Starship trajectory after 

SECO–1, Earth’s gravity will cause the 

Starship to passively enter the Earth’s 

atmosphere in either a controlled or 

uncontrolled suborbital reentry. For a 

controlled suborbital reentry, Starship 

may perform a landing burn prior to 

ocean splashdown. An uncontrolled 

suborbital reentry of Starship would 

almost certainly result in an in-air 

breakup with debris expected to land 

within published hazard areas.3 In both 

scenarios, Starship hazardous debris 4

would impact the open ocean between 

Madagascar and Australia. SpaceX 

identifies the suborbital reentry phase of 

the Starship flight to be from SECO–1 of 

the Starship to its final impact or 

landing because the perigee only 

decreases in the post-SECO–1 phases of 

flight. 

Waiver Criteria 

Chapter 509 allows the FAA to waive 

a license requirement if the waiver (1) 

will not jeopardize public health and 

safety, safety of property; (2) will not 

jeopardize national security and foreign 

policy interests of the United States; and 

(3) will be in the public interest. See 51 

U.S.C. 50905(b)(3); 14 CFR 404.5(b). 

Section 450.101(a)(1)(i) Waiver Petition 

Section 450.101(a)(1)(i) requires that 

the risk to all members of the public, 

excluding persons in aircraft and 

neighboring operations personnel, must 

not exceed 1 × 10¥4 Ec. For a suborbital 

launch, or a suborbital launch with a 

suborbital reentry,5 the 1 × 10¥4 Ec in 

§ 450.101(a)(1)(i) applies from liftoff 

through final impact or landing. 

SpaceX’s waiver petition is for its 

Starship Super Heavy missions from 

Boca Chica that involve a near-orbital 

trajectory, where the Starship almost 

obtains the necessary position and 

velocity to achieve orbital insertion (i.e., 

make it into orbit). Because Starship 

does not achieve orbital insertion, the 

FAA considers the near-orbital Starship 

Super Heavy missions to be suborbital 

in which a single launch collective risk 

limit of 1 × 10¥4 Ec is applied to cover 

the sum or aggregate of the risks from 

the suborbital launch and suborbital 

reentry phases of each mission. SpaceX 

seeks relief from the application of a 

single launch collective risk limit 

required by § 450.101(a)(1)(i) and 

requests that the FAA allow for two 

separate 1 × 10¥4 Ec risk limits, one for 

the suborbital launch phase and one for 

the suborbital reentry phase, similar to 

what is allocated to an orbital mission 

when a vehicle achieves orbital 

insertion and then reenters from Earth 

orbit. 

In making a waiver determination, the 

FAA must analyze whether the waiver: 

(1) would jeopardize public health and 

safety or safety of property; (2) would 

jeopardize national security and foreign 

policy interests of the United States; and 

(3) is in the public interest. See 51 

U.S.C. 50905(b)(3); 14 CFR 404.5(b). 

i. Public Health and Safety and Safety 

of Property 

The FAA finds that the trajectory 

proposed by SpaceX is more like an 

orbital trajectory than a suborbital 

trajectory. Because suborbital 

trajectories do not involve separate, 

licensable reentries, they are afforded 

one risk budget. By contrast, orbital 

trajectories with a return result in a 

separate and licensable reentry which 

necessitates a risk budget for launch and 

a risk budget for reentry. For future 

flights of the Starship Super Heavy that 

use this trajectory and end in the Indian 

Ocean, SpaceX has identified a 

trajectory that would allow the FAA to 

apply two separate risk budgets without 

jeopardizing public health and safety. 

This increase in the collective risk 

threshold from 1 × 10¥4 to 2 × 10¥4 Ec, 

with neither launch nor reentry 

exceeding 1 × 10¥4 Ec, exposes the 

public to overall less risk than that of an 

orbital mission followed by a separate 

reentry, given the current Starship flight 

history. SpaceX demonstrated that 

utilizing the near-orbital trajectory 

targeting an Indian Ocean landing, 

which avoids random reentry risk from 

failures that may occur while on-orbit 

and provides near certainty that any 

hazardous debris would impact 

locations in the Indian Ocean, will not 

jeopardize public health and safety. The 

FAA independently found that the 

public risk associated with a random 

reentry of the Starship, at this stage in 

its development, would be 40 to 50 

times higher than the collective risk 

threshold of 1 × 10¥4 Ec. Forcing 

Starship engine cut-off to occur just 

prior to reaching orbital perigee (and 

thus maintaining a suborbital trajectory) 

allows SpaceX to predict with high 

certainty debris impact locations given 

a failure. 

For an orbital launch, the criteria in 

§ 450.101(a) apply from liftoff through 

orbital insertion. For a suborbital 

launch, or a suborbital launch and 

reentry, the criteria in § 450.101(a) 

apply from liftoff through final impact 

or landing. To determine whether a 

launch is orbital or suborbital, the FAA 

determines whether the trajectory is a 

suborbital trajectory or achieves orbital 

insertion. The near-orbital trajectory 

targeting an Indian Ocean landing as 

proposed by SpaceX does not fully meet 

the definition of suborbital trajectory 

per § 401.7, nor does the operation 

achieve orbital insertion. Specifically, 

the near orbital trajectory does not fully 

meet the definition of suborbital 


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88340 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 216 / Thursday, November 7, 2024 / Notices 

trajectory because under § 401.7, a 

suborbital trajectory is when the 

vacuum instantaneous impact point 

(IIP) of a vehicle’s flight path does not 

leave the surface of the Earth. Starship’s 

nominal IIP leaves the earth for a few 

seconds. Secondly, the near orbital 

trajectory is not an orbital trajectory 

because it does not lead to orbital 

insertion. Orbital insertion is defined in 

§ 401.7 as the point at which a vehicle 

achieves a minimum 70-nautical mile 

perigee based on a computation that 

accounts for drag. In this case, the 

Starship Super Heavy does not achieve 

a 70-nautical mile perigee. Because 

Starship does not achieve orbital 

insertion, it conducts a suborbital 

reentry, which is different from a 

reentry from Earth orbit that involves a 

final health check prior to initiating 

deorbit. The near-orbital trajectory 

presents a unique circumstance as it 

relates to the application of the safety 

criteria outlined in § 450.101. 

The FAA finds that granting SpaceX 

a waiver to § 450.101(a)(1)(i) with the 

following terms and conditions would 

not jeopardize public health and safety 

or safety of property: 

• The risk to all members of the 

public, excluding persons in aircraft and 

neighboring operations personnel, must 

not exceed 1 × 10¥4 Ec for the phases 

of flight from the lift-off of the Super 

Heavy first stage to the initial SECO–1 

of Starship. 

• The risk to all members of the 

public, excluding persons in aircraft and 

neighboring operations personnel, must 

not exceed 1 × 10¥4 Ec for the phases 

of flight from the initial SECO–1 to final 

impact or landing. 

• The risk to all members of the 

public, excluding persons in aircraft and 

neighboring operations personnel, must 

not exceed 2 × 10¥4 Ec for all phases of 

flight from lift-off through final impact 

or landing. 

• The Starship mission profile 

utilizes a near-orbital trajectory where 

maximum perigee is less than positive 

130 km and greater than negative 50 km, 

and the normal trajectory limits 

predicted debris impacts to broad ocean 

areas in the Indian Ocean. 

ii. National Security and Foreign Policy 

Implications 

The FAA has identified no national 

security or foreign policy implications 

associated with granting this waiver. 

iii. Public Interest 

On June 20, 2024, the FAA received 

a letter from the National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration (NASA) 

Human Landing System (HLS) program 

conveying the importance and criticality 

of the Starship Super Heavy system and 

rapid iterations of flight test operations 

to NASA and its Artemis program. The 

Starship program, and these test flights, 

are essential to further the technology 

required to support the NASA Artemis 

program and key to returning U.S. 

Government astronauts to the moon, as 

reinforced by the letter from NASA. For 

these reasons, the FAA finds that 

granting this waiver will be in the 

public interest. 

Endnotes 

1 § 401.7 states that ‘‘Orbital insertion 

means the point at which a vehicle achieves 

a minimum 70-nautical mile perigee based 

on a computation that accounts for drag.’’ 

Seventy nautical miles equals 130 km. 2The FAA notes that this is different from 

the FAA’s definition of launch in 14 CFR 

401.7, which encompasses certain pre- and 

post-flight activities when the launch occurs 

from a U.S. site. 3This is because the loads on the Starship 

would exceed its structural limits. 4 § 401.7 states that ‘‘Hazardous debris 

means any object or substance capable of 

causing a casualty or loss of functionality to 

a critical asset. Hazardous debris includes 

inert debris and explosive debris such as an 

intact vehicle, vehicle fragments, any 

detached vehicle component whether intact 

or in fragments, payload, and any planned 

jettison bodies.’’ 5The FAA introduced suborbital reentry in 

its experimental permit final rulemaking in 

2007 and reaffirmed its position in the 

Streamlined Launch and Reentry License 

Requirements final rule (85 FR 79566, 79583 

(2020)). The CSLAA describes suborbital 

rockets as reentering. See 51 U.S.C. 

50905(b)(4) and 50906. Congress made clear 

that a suborbital rocket can ‘‘reenter’’ for 

purposes of licensing or permitting. It is not 

necessary to reach orbit to be in outer space. 

Although a suborbital rocket does not reach 

the velocity necessary to orbit the Earth, the 

vehicle can reach altitudes sufficient to be 

considered outer space. 

James Hatt, 

Space Policy Division Manager, Commercial 

Space Transportation, Federal Aviation 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–25851 Filed 11–6–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Improvement of Publication of 

Helicopter Air Ambulance (HAA) 

Operations 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

The Federal Aviation Administration 

(FAA) is announcing the availability of 

Helicopter Air Ambulance Operations 

data. The Helicopter Air Ambulance 

Operations data has been posted in 

accordance with 49 U.S.C. 44731, as 

amended. 

DATES: The most recently posted 

Helicopter Air Ambulance Operations 

data is for 2023. The FAA will continue 

to collect, analyze, and make available 

the HAA data in accordance with 49 

U.S.C. 44731(d)(2). 

ADDRESSES: How to obtain copies: A 

copy of this publication may be 

downloaded from: https://www.faa.gov/ 

about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ 

avs/offices/afx/afs/afs200. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nolan Crawford, 202–267–8166, Flight 

Standards Service, AFS–220, Federal 

Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20591, 9-AFS-200-Correspondence@

faa.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 31, 

2024. 

James Nolan Crawford, 

Air Transportation Division, 135 Flight 

Operation Section, Aviation Safety Inspector. 

[FR Doc. 2024–25707 Filed 11–6–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[Docket No. FHWA–2019–0013] 

Renewal Package From the State of 

Texas to the Surface Transportation 

Project Delivery Program and 

Proposed Second Renewed 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 

Assigning Environmental 

Responsibilities to the State 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), U.S. 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed MOU and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces that 

FHWA has received and reviewed a 

renewal package from the Texas 

Department of Transportation (TxDOT) 

requesting participation in the Surface 

Transportation Project Delivery Program 

(Program). This Program allows FHWA 

to assign, and States to assume, 

responsibilities under the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and 

all or part of FHWA’s responsibilities 

for environmental review, consultation, 

or other actions required under any 

Federal environmental law with respect 

to one or more Federal highway projects 

within the State. The FHWA has 

determined the renewal package to be 


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