Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. violated the terms of his federal license for a December test launch of his Starship spacecraft, a flight that ended in a fireball, according to a report.
It was unclear which part of the test violated the license, the Verge website said Friday in its article, citing anonymous sources. An incident investigation by the The US Federal Aviation Administration focused on SpaceX’s refusal to abide by what the regulator had authorized, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News, confirming the Verge’s report. The person, who was not allowed to discuss the matter, asked for anonymity.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday outside normal business hours.
Increased regulatory oversight played a role in delaying a test of the Starship SN-9’s SpaceX prototype this week, The Verge reported. Musk expressed his frustration in a tweet on Thursday, slamming the FAA for “a fundamentally broken regulatory structure.” The agency said Friday it would evaluate “additional information” from SpaceX as the company tries to change its launch license.
The missile company had praised the launch of the SN-9.
The starship SN-8 flew on December 9 with a successful takeoff and a landing turnaround maneuver and remained stable for nearly seven minutes in flight. But low pressure in a fuel tank caused the spacecraft to land too fast, resulting in a fireball at touchdown.
“While we recognize the importance of acting quickly to drive growth and innovation in the commercial space, the FAA will not jeopardize its responsibility to protect public safety,” the FAA said in response to questions about the delay in launch. of the SN-9. “We will not approve the change until we are satisfied that SpaceX has taken the necessary steps to comply with regulatory requirements.”
SpaceX’s stainless steel spaceship is designed as a versatile, fully reusable craft capable of carrying 100 tons for deep space missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as serving as a hypersonic, point-to-point vehicle to reduce travel times across Earth.