The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the government agency that oversees air travel and safety in the United States, has asked two major space companies—Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin—to look into problems that occurred during their recent rocket test flights.
The FAA is requiring both companies to conduct a “mishap investigation.” This means that SpaceX and Blue Origin will need to work closely with the FAA to figure out what went wrong during their flights, why those issues happened, and what changes they can make to prevent similar problems in the future. Before either company can launch their rockets again, they will need to get approval from the FAA. It’s not clear how long these investigations will take.
In the case of SpaceX, their Starship rocket system experienced a serious problem during its seventh test flight, which took place in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday. The rocket exploded after launching, and Elon Musk explained on social media that the explosion was caused by the Starship becoming over-pressurized due to too much gas while it was ascending into space. SpaceX’s official statement indicates that a fire broke out inside the rocket, leading to its destruction.
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The explosion created a significant amount of debris that fell over the Turks and Caicos Islands, which caused the FAA to temporarily slow down and redirect some flights in the area due to safety concerns. Fortunately, there have been no reports of injuries, but the FAA is currently working with SpaceX to investigate claims of damage to public property in the Turks and Caicos.
Interestingly, SpaceX and the FAA seem to disagree on one important detail about the explosion. The FAA has declared a “Debris Response Area,” which it typically does when parts of a spacecraft fall outside of previously established safety zones. However, SpaceX claims on its website that any debris from the rocket would have landed within the designated safety area.
Meanwhile, earlier on the same day as SpaceX’s launch, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, for its very first test flight. The upper stage of the New Glenn rocket successfully reached orbit, but the booster, which is supposed to return to Earth and land on a drone ship at sea, exploded during its descent.
The FAA has acknowledged that something went wrong during the Blue Origin mission, but they also reported that there were no injuries or damage to public property associated with that incident.
