After reaching an agreement with SpaceX on revised protocols for next flights, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announced on Monday that it had concluded its investigation into an explosion that occurred during the company’s Starship Super Heavy Orbital Test flight in late 2023.
According to SpaceX, which oversaw the incident’s investigation, the Super Heavy booster, the massive initial part of the rocket system that propels the upper Starship stage into space, detonated because several engines failed to ignite correctly when it was returning for a landing.
Although the unmanned spacecraft, which was designed to transport humans to the moon and beyond, failed its second test in November of last year, it was successful compared to the first attempt, which resulted in an explosion.
The vehicle broke up more than three and a half minutes into the trip over the Gulf of Mexico.
In SpaceX’s mishap report, the FAA accepted the root causes of the incident as well as 17 corrective actions, which included vehicle hardware redesigns, updated control system modeling, re-evaluation of engine analyses, updated engine control algorithms, operational changes, flammability analysis updates, and additional fire protection installation.
SpaceX stated that it had installed gear “to improve leak reduction, fire protection, and refined operations associated with the propellant vent to increase reliability.”
Prior to the next launch, SpaceX must take corrective actions and get a license modification from the FAA that addresses safety, environmental, and other regulatory requirements.
The FAA said it is evaluating SpaceX’s license modification request and expects SpaceX to submit additional required information before a final determination.
“More Starships are ready to fly, putting flight hardware in a flight environment to learn as quickly as possible,” the company said.
