FAA orders SpaceX to investigate Starship booster mishapStarship booster mishap
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered SpaceX to investigate a mishap with the Starship booster after a test flight last week that ended with the rocket crashing into the Gulf of Mexico.
The grounding of further Starship flights puts a pause on a key part of SpaceX's development program and could affect the pace of future launches.
FAA
The agency says SpaceX must determine why the booster failed and what role that failure played in the flight outcome. It treats the incident as a safety and licensing issue before any more launches can proceed.
SpaceX
SpaceX is expected to review the test data and work with regulators to identify the cause of the mishap. The company has repeatedly used test flights to push rapid iteration on Starship, even when flights end in failure.
- Starship is intended to be the launch system for NASA’s planned Artemis lunar missions.
- The rocket system is central to SpaceX’s long-term goal of sending people to Mars.
- Federal regulators can require accident reviews even when a launch itself is privately funded.
