WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday said it approved SpaceX's Starship to return to flight after its explosive testing mishap in March, allowing Elon Musk's space company to launch the Mars rocket's ninth test flight from Texas as soon as next week.

The FAA said in a statement that it was in "close contact and collaboration" with the United Kingdom, Turks & Caicos Islands, Bahamas, Mexico and Cuba - areas that Starship flies over or near on its path to space - as it monitors SpaceX's regulatory compliance.