FAA orders investigation after SpaceX Starship breaks up and showers debris
CBSN
The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered SpaceX to carry out a formal investigation into the breakup of its Starship rocket during a test flight Thursday that sent a spectacular shower of flaming debris plummeting back to Earth, the agency announced Friday.
"The FAA is requiring SpaceX to perform a mishap investigation into the loss of the Starship vehicle during launch operations on Jan. 16," the FAA said in a statement. "There are no reports of public injury, and the FAA is working with SpaceX and appropriate authorities to confirm reports of public property damage on Turks and Caicos."
Within minutes of the Starship's breakup, along with videos posted on social media showing a shower of debris from a sudden fireball — possibly propellants igniting in the wake of the failure — the FAA activated a "Debris Response Area" and "briefly slowed aircraft outside the area where space vehicle debris was falling."
