{"id":45910,"date":"2023-09-09T17:05:09","date_gmt":"2023-09-09T09:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/faa-says-spacex-has-more-to-do-before-starship-can-fly-again\/"},"modified":"2023-09-09T17:05:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-09T09:05:09","slug":"faa-says-spacex-has-more-to-do-before-starship-can-fly-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/faa-says-spacex-has-more-to-do-before-starship-can-fly-again\/","title":{"rendered":"FAA says SpaceX has more to do before Starship can fly again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunday update: <\/strong>Elon Musk, SpaceX\u2019s founder and CEO, posted Sunday on his social media platform X that the company has completed 57 corrective actions required before the second integrated test flight of the Starship rocket. Six more corrective actions will be implemented before future missions. This story has been updated to add Musk\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it has closed an investigation into the problems SpaceX encountered on its first full-scale Starship test launch in April, but federal regulators won\u2019t yet give a green light for the next Starship flight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe closure of the mishap investigation does not signal an immediate resumption of Starship launches at Boca Chica,\u201d the FAA said in a statement, referring to the location of SpaceX\u2019s Starship launch facility at Boca Chica Beach in South Texas.<\/p>\n

The nearly 400-foot-tall Starship rocket, the largest ever built, is standing on its launch pad in Texas for the upcoming test flight, which could happen before the end of this month, pending FAA approval.<\/p>\n

If all goes according to plan, the rocket\u2019s Super Heavy booster, powered by 33 methane-fueled Raptor engines, will burn for nearly three minutes, then the Starship upper stage will light its own Raptor engines to accelerate to near-orbital velocity, fast enough to send the vehicle on a flight three-quarters of the way around the world. The booster will attempt to descend to a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, testing maneuvers for future flights to recover and reuse the rocket.<\/p>\n

But the first test flight of Starship didn\u2019t get that far. SpaceX recently submitted to the FAA the results of its investigation into the Starship test launch, which ended about four minutes after liftoff on April 20.<\/p>\n

Multiple Raptor engines on the rocket\u2019s Super Heavy booster failed, and the vehicle lost its steering, causing it to twist out of control in the upper atmosphere. An autonomous self-destruct system issued a command to blow up the rocket, but it took longer than expected for Starship to break apart. The rocket finally disintegrated in a ball of flame.<\/p>\n

,<\/p>\n

The FAA\u2019s statement Friday confirms that federal regulators have completed their review of SpaceX\u2019s mishap investigation report, which cites multiple root causes that led to the April 20 test flight ending a few minutes after liftoff. SpaceX deemed the test flight a success because it allowed engineers to gather data on the rocket\u2019s performance. The mishap investigation report itself contains SpaceX proprietary data and information governed by US export control laws and is not available for public release, according to the FAA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe FAA has been provided with sufficient information and accepts the root causes and corrective actions described in the mishap report,\u201d wrote Marcus Ward, manager of the FAA\u2019s safety assurance division, in a letter to SpaceX. \u201cConsequently, the FAA considers the mishap investigation that SpaceX was required to complete to be concluded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now SpaceX must convince the FAA it has checked off a list of corrective actions to prevent the same failures from occurring on the next Starship test flight. SpaceX said in a statement Friday that lessons learned from the April 20 launch are \u201cdirectly contributing to several upgrades being made to both the vehicle and ground infrastructure to improve the probability of success on future Starship flights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starship fixes<\/h2>\n

The FAA said Friday that SpaceX needs to complete 63 corrective actions identified after the Starship launch in April, but said SpaceX only must implement those actions that impact public safety ahead of the next Starship flight. Then SpaceX must apply for and receive a modification to its launch license \u201cthat addresses all safety, environmental and other applicable regulatory requirements\u201d prior to the upcoming launch, the FAA said.<\/p>\n

Elon Musk, SpaceX\u2019s founder and CEO, posted a list on Sunday of the 63 corrective actions on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. \u201cCongrats to SpaceX for completing & documented the 57 items required by the FAA for Flight 2 of Starship!\u201d Musk wrote. The remaining six corrective actions coordinated between SpaceX and the FAA are only needed for later Starship flights, he said.<\/p>\n

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The FAA is responsible for ensuring commercial launch operations do not endanger the public or property, and the agency is also charged with overseeing the effect of launches on the environment.<\/p>\n

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Elon Musk shared this list of corrective actions identified after the first Starship test launch April 20.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/p>\n

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Congrats to SpaceX for completing & documented the 57 items required by the FAA for Flight 2 of Starship! <\/p>\n

Worth noting that 6 of the 63 items refer to later flights. pic.twitter.com\/YlPg3ywCZE<\/a><\/p>\n

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n