US FAA in contact with SpaceX after rocket fire

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Tuesday it was in “close contact” with SpaceX as the company assessed a fire that occurred as part of the development of the Super Heavy booster missile, but it agency was barred from investigating the matter.

The FAA said US law “limits the FAA’s security oversight to protecting the public during planned launch and return operations. Yesterday’s event is not under the agency’s jurisdiction.”

A booster rocket developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX for its next-generation Starship spacecraft caught fire during a ground test on Monday in Texas, probable setback to Musk’s goal of launching Starship into orbit this year.

The outage came amid a days-long static fire test campaign in Boca Chica, Texas, of the booster equipped with 33 Raptor engines for use in an upcoming unmanned orbital test flight that SpaceX hoped to launch later this year.

“Yeah, not good actually. The team is assessing the damage,” Musk said on Twitter after the evening explosion of the Super Heavy Booster 7 prototype, as seen in livestream images captured by the NASA Spaceflight website.

The explosion, which engulfed the rocket’s base in a ball of flames and heavy smoke and appeared to shake the video camera, was specific to the engine’s launch test, Musk said.

The booster then remained upright, bolted to a test gantry.

In another tweet on Wednesday, Musk said damage to the booster rocket was minor, “but we need to inspect all engines.”

SpaceX’s Complete Starship is the company’s next-generation launch vehicle that is central to Musk’s ambitions to make human spaceflight more affordable and routine.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment.

In late 2020 and early 2021, SpaceX lost four prototypes of the Starship itself in a series of high-altitude launches when return landing attempts ended in explosions. The Starship prototype made a safe landing in May 2021.

Reporting by David Shepardson, additional reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh; Editing by Bernadette Baum

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