Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. violating the terms of his federal license to launch a test in December of his Starship spacecraft, a flight that ended in a fireball, according to its report.
It was unclear which part of the test violated the license, the Verge website said Friday in its article, which called anonymous sources. Mishap investigation by the The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration was focusing on SpaceX’s refusal to comply with the regulator’s authorization, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News, confirming the Verge report. The man, who was not allowed to discuss the matter, requested anonymity.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment issued after Friday’s regular business hours.
A step-by-step management study was instrumental in delaying testing of the StarsX SN-9 prototype at SpaceX this week, the Verge said. Musk expressed his fears in a tweet Thursday, hits the FAA for “a fundamentally broken governance structure. The group said on Friday that it would “evaluate additional information” from SpaceX as the company seeks to change its start-up license.
The rocket company had been trying to launch SN-9.
The Starship SN-8 was flown on Dec. 9 with a successful ascent and landing flip motion, staying steady throughout the flight for nearly seven minutes. However, low pressure in the fuel tank caused the spacecraft to land too quickly, resulting in its fireball at a touchdown.
“While we recognize the importance of moving swiftly to encourage growth and innovation in a commercial space, the FAA will not jeopardize the protection of public safety,” the FAA said. answer questions about SN-9 launch delays. “We will agree to the modification immediately after being satisfied that SpaceX has taken the necessary steps to comply with regulatory requirements. ”
SpaceX Stainless Steel Starship is designed to be a multi-functional, fully reusable craft that can carry 100 metric tons for deep space missions to the moon and Mars and also be a hypersonic, point-to-point vehicle for travel times. to reduce throughout the Earth.