The Federal Aviation Administration has declared SpaceX’s May 22 Starship Flight 12 a mishap and ordered a SpaceX-led investigation that the FAA will oversee and approve, pausing further Starship test launches until the agency signs off on the findings. This directive reduces the chance of another test before SpaceX’s expected mid-June IPO and requires FAA approval of any corrective actions.
Mishap Determination And Oversight
The FAA said the mishap involved the Super Heavy booster during its return to the Gulf of Mexico after stage separation, and there were no reports of public injury or damage to public property. The agency told TechCrunch it will be involved in every step of the SpaceX-led investigation and must approve the final report.
What Happened During Flight 12
The issue occurred a few minutes into the flight, the first test of SpaceX’s upgraded “V3” Starship, after the vehicle passed maximum dynamic pressure and reached space. The booster separated but then appeared to suffer an engine failure or a series of engine failures during the sustained burn intended to send it back to South Texas, causing it to tumble toward the Gulf and most likely explode on impact.
Starship Vehicle Performance
After separation, the Starship vehicle lost one of its six Raptor engines, which led SpaceX to abandon a planned second sustained orbital burn for the flight. The May 22 test incorporated numerous changes from prior attempts, including booster design tweaks, third-generation Raptor engines, and upgrades to the Starship vehicle itself.
Program Context And Stakes
SpaceX expects failures during development as it pursues a fully reusable heavy-lift system aiming for operational reliability similar to Falcon 9. TechCrunch reported that Starship’s reusability is crucial to lowering costs for heavy payload launches and to SpaceX’s plans to expand Starlink, its largest revenue source and currently the only profitable business, as noted in SpaceX’s IPO filing.
FAA Actions Across Industry
The FAA has required multiple mishap investigations of Starship development and issued similar orders to Blue Origin during New Glenn development. The FAA cleared New Glenn to fly again last week, and Blue Origin is expected to attempt its fourth New Glenn launch in the coming month.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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