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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has confirmed that a mishap investigation will be required for SpaceX's Starship Flight 7. Starship Flight 7 took to the skies less than a day ago amidst much fanfare as SpaceX tested a brand new upper-stage spacecraft with the test. However, the test came to an anti-climatic end roughly ten minutes post-launch when it was confirmed that SpaceX had lost the upper stage as it was on its way to the Indian Ocean. After the flight, CEO and chief engineer Elon Musk was hopeful that the next Starship test might not be delayed beyond February.
However, depending on the amount of work that it might have to do for the investigation, SpaceX might have no choice but to delay Starship Flight 8 for months as it works with the FAA to ensure that Starship tests do not pose a threat to public safety.
FAA Confirms That Debris From SpaceX's Starship Flight 7 Fell Outside The Identified Aircraft Hazard Area
In its statement to reporters moments back, the FAA shared that it is "requiring SpaceX to perform a mishap investigation into the loss of the Starship vehicle during launch operations on Jan. 16." The agency added that while there are no reports of a loss of life from the Starship Flight 7 upper-stage anomaly, it "is working with SpaceX and appropriate authorities to confirm reports of public property damage on Turks and Caicos."
According to statements from SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk, the reason behind the mishap was a fire in the rocket's lower section. SpaceX stopped receiving data from the ship a mere eight and a half minutes post liftoff and it took the next couple of minutes to confirm the loss of vehicle. Soon after the anomaly, several clips on social media from the Caribbean showed the upper-stage Starship entering the Earth's atmosphere in the form of multiple debris trails.
The regulator shared additional crucial details about yesterday's anomaly. It revealed that after the mishap, it "activated a Debris Response Area and briefly slowed aircraft outside the area where space vehicle debris was falling or stopped aircraft at their departure location." Since aircraft typically have calculated fuel on board to save costs and weight, the FAA added that "Several aircraft requested to divert due to low fuel levels while holding outside impacted areas."
According to the regulator, a Debris Response Area is " activated only if the space vehicle experiences an anomaly with debris falling outside of the identified closed aircraft hazard areas." Consequently, the FAA is stating that debris from the upper-stage Starship fell outside of the designated hazard areas, an assertion that SpaceX did not confirm in its statement following the anomaly.
According to SpaceX's earlier statement, "Any surviving pieces of debris would have fallen into the designated hazard area." as "Starship flew within its designated launch corridor."
The FAA does caution that these statements are preliminary so they could change in the future. A mishap investigation can prolong the time that it takes for SpaceX to secure its launch license for Starship Flight 8. However, if Flight 8, which should be a mirror attempt of Flight 7 regarding test objectives, is successful, then the firm could increase its test cadence for the rest of the year.
