Brownsville, Texas – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently concluded its investigation into the explosion of SpaceX’s Starship rocket and has agreed on new procedures for future flights. SpaceX launched the Starship on November 18 from Texas, where it reached space before encountering an issue with its upper stage just minutes into the test flight. The 400-foot rocket, launched without any crew onboard, faced an automated internal system malfunction which led to its destruction.
Following the explosion, the FAA conducted an investigation and on Monday confirmed that it accepted SpaceX’s explanation of the incident. SpaceX identified 17 corrective actions to address the mishap, including hardware redesigns, control system updates, engine analyses reevaluation, and operational changes. The aerospace company also shared its own update, detailing the issues that led to the failure of the Starship.
According to SpaceX, the booster’s 33 Raptor engines initially functioned correctly, but a chain reaction occurred after separation, leading to the explosion of the booster. The company attributed the likely cause of the failure to a filter blockage affecting the supply of liquid oxygen to the engines. Despite the upper stage flying successfully for about seven minutes, a leak in the spacecraft’s aft section triggered a series of events that ultimately led to the shut down of the engines and the initiation of the automated flight termination system.
As SpaceX prepares for its next launch, the FAA has mandated the implementation of all corrective actions and requires a license modification from the agency. The FAA is currently evaluating SpaceX’s request for the license modification. Despite the setbacks experienced in both the April and November launches of the Starship, SpaceX remains committed to resolving the issues and improving the performance of its spacecraft.
Looking ahead, SpaceX’s Starship has been earmarked to launch Starlab, a commercial space station project developed by Voyager Space and Airbus. With plans to host four crew members, Starlab is scheduled to launch before the International Space Station is decommissioned toward the end of the decade. The progress made in addressing the challenges faced during the recent test flights will be crucial in ensuring the success of the upcoming Starlab mission.