The explosive crash of a SpaceX rocket prototype Starship this week has prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to oversee an investigation into the incident. The news follows recent reports that SpaceX violated federal security regulations late last year.
An FAA spokesman he said CNN through a statement that the investigation will “identify the root cause” of the “mishap“And explore” possible opportunities to further improve security as the program develops. “
Certainly, Mishap is a word to describe what happened this past Tuesday (February 2, 2021) at the SpaceX test facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
He SN9 height test it looked like it was going well, with the Starship prototype performing a suborbital flight at about 10 km, followed by a free aerodynamic go back to the ground. But things got worse during the landing maneuver, as “one of the [three] The Raptor engines did not start again and caused the SN9 to land at high speed and experience a RUD. seconds and SpaceX.
For RUD, SpaceX means “quick, unscheduled disassembly.” Good joke (and a term used for decades), but the FAA doesn’t laugh, especially considering it’s now the second explosive crash of a Starship prototype, the first passing on December 11, 2020.
G / O Media may receive a commission
“The FAA’s highest priority in regulating the commercial transportation of space is to ensure that operations are safe, even if there is an anomaly,” the FAA said. statement. Accordingly, the aerospace regulator, which also oversees U.S. airspace, “will oversee the investigation of [Tuesday’s] landing misfortune ”involving the SpaceX prototype.
Musk fans will complain, but that’s exactly the kind of thing the FAA is supposed to do. Like yours guidelines clarify that the FAA may be involved due to a launch or re-entry accident or incident, an accident at the launch site, orthe launch or re-entry has not been completed as planned. ”The FAA may also be involved when damage to the payload, a launch or re-entry vehicle, a launch support facility, or re-entry … located at launch site or re-entry “exceeds $ 25,000.
There are a lot of boxes checked there, so the FAA is within its limits in this case.
And if I dare say, the aerospace regulator could be relying on SpaceX right now given the recent events. As a Virgin reports, the altitude test done in December was not authorized. Prior to the SN8 test, SpaceX “sought a waiver to exceed the maximum public risk allowed by federal safety regulations.” seconds to Reuters, which the FAA later denied. SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, continued with the launch anyway.
SpaceX wanted to launch SN9 last week but could not due to lack of FAA approval. On Tuesday, however, the FAA had decided to allow the launch, saying SpaceX had taken the necessary “corrective actions,” the details of which remain unknown, according to Reuters.
That said, an FAA statement released before Tuesday’s SN9 launch provides some clues as to what happened to change the agency’s view.
“The FAA required SpaceX to conduct an investigation into the incident, including a thorough review of the company’s safety culture, operational decision-making and process discipline,” the FAA spokesman said. “All tests that could affect public safety at the Boca Chica launch site were suspended until the investigation was completed and the FAA approved the company’s corrective actions.”
The FAA said there will be “no other enforcement action [the] SN8 matters “, and that the requested measures were incorporated into the launch of the SN9.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to request for comment.
On its website, the company states that these flight tests “consist of improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-haul interplanetary flights and help humanity return to the Moon and travel to Mars and beyond. “
That these tests involve semi-control plummet of a huge prototype rocket partially filled with fuel, and now a couple of explosions that would make Michael Bay blush, doesn’t seem to worry SpaceX. Sure, the immediate area around the Boca Chica test site is unoccupied, but the residential and commercial areas are a few miles north of Port Isabel and South Padre Island. So, of course, the FAA cares.
On a January 28th tweet, Musk said, that “the FAA’s space division has a fundamentally broken regulatory structure.” The CEO of SpaceX is not completely offline with his comments. The Department of Transportation, which oversees the FAA, developed new rules last year to modernize the way the FAA “regulates and licenses commercial space operations and allows the growing aerospace industry to continue to innovate and grow, while maintaining public safety. “, according to a statement. But, as Virgo reports, these regulations have not yet been implemented.
In his tweet, Musk said that under current rules, “humanity will never reach Mars.” That, give me a break. History will hardly register an American aerospace regulator like the fundamental obstacle for the red planet, but the richest man in the world is clearly frustrated by not being able to do what he wants, whenever you want. Well.