The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday said it would require SpaceX to issue a mishap investigation after its Starship mega-rocket broke up after launch.
A mishap investigation requires SpaceX to identify what caused the incident and figure out how to prevent it from reoccurring. The FAA has to approve SpaceX’s final report, including fixes, before Starship can have its eighth test.
SpaceX held its latest test of the 400-foot-tall, reusable rocket on Thursday afternoon from its Starbase facility in southern Texas, successfully launching and catching the “Super Heavy” booster. However, Starship experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn,” the company said.
“Teams will continue to review data from today’s flight test to better understand root cause. With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability,” SpaceX said in a statement.
After the rocket lost communication, videos were posted across social media showing what appeared to be debris falling near the Caribbean islands. SpaceX said the debris should have fallen into its defined “hazard area.”
The FAA at the time issued a notice warning pilots of falling debris and activated a “debris response area,” which only occurs when debris falls outside of identified hazard areas. Commercial jets operated by JetBlue Airways (JBLU-0.79%) and American Airlines (AAL-0.38%) were forced to divert their flights.
The regulator on Friday said that no injuries have been reported as a result of the debris. It’s also working with SpaceX to confirm reports of property damage in Turks and Caicos. SpaceX says that people should not attempt to directly handle the debris, but instead contact a hotline posted to its website.
“The booster flight was a success, the ship flight was 1/4 successful, hence cup being ~5/8 full,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on X, calling any issues “barely a bump in the road.”
The FAA has also ordered Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to conduct a mishap investigation into an anomaly that occurred during the debut launch of its New Glenn mega-rocket. No injuries or property damage have been reported, the agency said.
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