"From a hardware readiness perspective, we are targeting to be ready in January," she said. The company performed static-fire tests of both the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage, or ship, intended for that launch in late December.

She said. "We're expecting that [FAA] license to come in February. So, it's looking like Flight 3 will occur in February."

Refueling Tanker Launches for SpaceX Lunar Starship

The number of tanker launches needed for a Starship lunar lander mission has been a topic of disagreement. Elon Musk, founder and chief executive of SpaceX, once stated that no more than eight, and perhaps as few as four, tanker launches would be needed. But at an advisory committee meeting in November, Lakiesha Hawkins, assistant deputy associate administrator for NASA's Moon to Mars Program, said the number of tanker launches was in "the high teens."

Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator for NASA's Moon to Mars Program. "Probably the reason why you're hearing different numbers is because we have a lot of different modeling and analysis iterations that are going on."

SpaceX VP Jensen described an iterative process of flight and ground tests. "That will wind up determining how many missions we need," she said.