SpaceX: an investigation opened after the explosion of the second stage of the Starship rocket

SpaceX’s Starship rocket was suspended from flight on Friday, January 17, by the American aviation regulator, the FAA, which asked the company to open an investigation after the explosion the day before of the second stage of its rocket over the Caribbean.

During the 7th test flight of its Starship megarocket, the largest ever built, Elon Musk’s company managed to catch up with the first stage for the second time, a complex and spectacular maneuver. But the second stage of the device was then the subject of a “unscheduled rapid disassembly”in the words of SpaceX.

Space debris over the Caribbean

After this explosion, the FAA indicated that it had briefly diverted planes around a “space vehicle debris falling zone”. In a press release announcing the suspension of Starship flights, the FAA also indicated “working with SpaceX and relevant authorities to confirm damage to property in the Turks and Caicos Islands”in the Caribbean.

The government of the Turks and Caicos Islands announced in a statement that this territory had been affected by “debris from a failed SpaceX launch”. “So far, no injuries have been reported and material damage is minimal,” said the authorities, who asked residents to report space debris without touching it.

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According to the procedure, SpaceX flights will be able to resume once it has submitted its investigation to the FAA, which must include “corrective measures”and received the green light from the regulator. SpaceX may also submit a request to resume flights before the end of the investigation if it demonstrates that it has taken preventive measures and that the incident did not endanger the safety of the public.

The Starship megarocket should allow SpaceX and Elon Musk to reach the planet Mars and NASA plans to use a modified version for its Artemis missions intended to return to the Moon in the coming years.