The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is not facilitating an investigation into what went wrong during the seventh test flight of SpaceX’s Starship megarocket (January 16).
The launch, from SpaceX’s Starbase site in South Texas, went well at first. Starship got off the pad successfully, and its two stages — the Super Heavy booster and Ship spacecraft — separated on time. And the giant booster came back to Starbase, where it was caught by the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms.
The ship, however, was less successful. The flight plan called for the top tier to deploy 10 dummy satellites about 17. 5 minutes after liftoff and crash into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia 50 minutes later. But that did not happen; The 52-meter-tall craft exploded about 8. 5 minutes after launch, dumping debris over the Atlantic Ocean near the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Today (Jan. 17), the FAA announced that it’s requiring a mishap investigation into the incident, to determine its root cause and implement corrective actions.
These paintings may not take long. SpaceX already knows the most likely cause, according to company founder and CEO Elon Musk: a propellant leak that caused a fire in the aft section of the ship.
Related: SpaceX catches super-heavy booster during Starship Flight 7 test, but loses upper stage (video, photos)
The ship explosion had a real effect beyond creating an impressive air show, according to the FAA. Although no injuries were reported, the company is “working with SpaceX and the relevant government to verify reports of damage to public assets in the Turks and Caicos Islands,” FAA officials wrote in an email sent today.
“During the event, the FAA activated a debris reaction zone and shortly slowed aircraft out of the area where spacecraft debris was falling or stopped aircraft at their departure location,” he added. agency. ” Several aircraft asked to divert due to low fuel levels while waiting outside the affected areas. “
Starship Flight 7 Disintegrates and Re-Enters Turks and Caicos Islands pic. twitter. com/iuQ0YAy17O16 January 2025
— Starship and Super Heavy explained
— Will 2025 be the year of Starship? SpaceX’s megarocket is growing up.
– SpaceX is expected to get FAA approval for 25 Starship launches in 2025
SpaceX will lead the mishap investigation, but the FAA must approve the company’s final report, according to the agency, which grants launch licenses for U.S. vehicles.
“The return to flight is based on the FAA’s determination that any system, procedure, or procedure similar to the destination turn is not conducive to public safety,” the company wrote in today’s statement.
SpaceX wants to get Starship back on the pad quickly. The company intends to make big strides this year on the megarocket, which it’s developing to help humanity settle Mars, among other exploration feats.
“The ship and booster for Starship’s eighth flight test are built and going through prelaunch testing and preparing to fly as we continue a rapid iterative development process to build a fully and rapidly reusable space transportation system,” SpaceX wrote yesterday in a post-Flight 7 blog post.
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Michael Wall is Senior Space Editor at Space. com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight, and military space, but has been known to delve into the realm of space art. His book about the search for extraterrestrial life, “Out There,” was published on November 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph. D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in scientific writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest assignment is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.
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