NATIONWIDE \u2014 The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Wednesday that it is grounding SpaceX\u2019s Starship after its booster malfunctioned during its 12th test launch.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
The FAA stated that it is requiring SpaceX to conduct a mishap investigation On Friday evening, May 22, SpaceX conducted its 12th flight test of its Starship and Super Heavy booster<\/a>. (When they are stacked together, they are jointly called Starship.)<\/p>\n Minutes after takeoff from SpaceX\u2019s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, the Super Heavy booster separated from the uncrewed Starship.<\/p>\n It was supposed to fire off its engines, but they did not relight, and it crashed into the Gulf, where originally, it was supposed to have a water landing.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing stage separation, the Super Heavy booster performed a directional flip maneuver and attempted its boostback burn. It was unable to light all planned engines and performed a partial boostback burn that ended early. Super Heavy attempted to reignite its engines for the landing burn before experiencing a hard splashdown in the Gulf of America,\u201d SpaceX explained<\/a>.<\/p>\n There were no reports of people being injured or damage to public property.<\/p>\n The FAA stated that it is requiring SpaceX to conduct a mishap investigation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe FAA will oversee the SpaceX-led investigation, be involved in every step of the process, and approve SpaceX\u2019s final report, including any corrective actions,\u201d the agency stated<\/a>.<\/p>\n Starship will be allowed to fly again once the FAA concludes a complete review of the incident.<\/p>\n This is not the first time the FAA grounded Starship. Last year<\/a>, Starship was grounded after the upper stage lost communications and, as SpaceX stated, a \u201crapid unscheduled disassembly\u201d happened.<\/p>\n
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The\u00a0Super Heavy booster’s engines did not relight after stage seperation
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