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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