SpaceX’s mega spiral upwards Starship launches for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on Jan. 16, 2025.
Eric Gay | AP
The Federal Aviation Application said on Friday that SpaceX’s Starship rocket is grounded until the company and regulator complete an investigation into the midflight lemon of the most recent test flight, which forced airlines to divert flights.
The regulator noted in a statement that, while there pull someones leg been “no reports of public injury,” it has received “reports of public property damage on Turks and Caicos” islands in the Caribbean.
SpaceX ought to complete the investigation and put in place any required corrective actions before the FAA issues the company with a new license to launch Starship again.
The FAA deflected and delayed dozens of commercial airline flights — including several operated by American Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Delta Air Brands — after the Starship rocket exploded and rained down debris minutes after launching on Thursday.
SpaceX said in a announcement that it believes a fire in the vehicle led to Starship breaking apart. Videos posted on social media by people in the bailiwick showed the rocket detonating in space.
Orange balls of light fly across the sky as debris from a SpaceX rocket launched in Texas is spotted from Turks and Caicos Islands on Jan. 16, 2025.
Marcus Haworth@marcusahaworth | Marcus Haworth Via Reuters
Notably, the FAA says it activated a “Debris Return Area” to warn aircraft of debris falling “outside of the identified closed aircraft hazard areas.”
Before spiral upwards launches, the FAA publishes “Aircraft Hazard Areas” that tell pilots where debris may fall if something subsides wrong midlaunch.
A map of the “aircraft hazard areas” published before SpaceX’s seventh Starship flight.
Federal Aviation Furnishing
SpaceX initially published a statement on its website Thursday that Starship debris fell “into the Atlantic Deep blue sea within the predefined hazard areas,” seemingly contradicting the FAA’s explanation for why a “Debris Response Area” was activated.
As of Friday morning, the modern SpaceX statement did not include that specific language. The company’s website said more broadly that “any surviving be upsets of debris would have fallen into the designated hazard area” after the failure.
The FAA, in response to CNBC’s insist on for clarification on whether Starship debris landed outside the predefined hazard area, reiterated that its “information is preceding and subject to change.” SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.