(Reuters) – SpaceX’s first high-altitude test flight of its Starship rocket, which exploded last month while attempting to land after an otherwise successful test launch, violated the terms of its Federal Aviation Administration test license, The Verge reported Friday, citing from sources.
An investigation was opened that week focusing on the explosive landing and SpaceX’s refusal to abide by the terms of what the FAA had authorized, The Verge said.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Starship rocket that was destroyed in the accident was a 16-story heavy-launch vehicle prototype developed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s private space company to carry humans and 100 tons of cargo on future missions to the moon and Mars.
The self-guided missile blew up when it landed on a landing pad after a controlled descent. The test flight was intended to reach an altitude of 41,000 feet, powered for the first time by three of SpaceX’s newly developed Raptor engines.
But the company left it unclear whether the missile had flown that high.
The FAA said it would evaluate additional information from SpaceX as part of its application to change its launch license.
“We will not approve the change until we are satisfied that SpaceX has taken the necessary steps to comply with regulatory requirements,” said a statement.
Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan