SpaceX’s Starship Explosion Leads To Grounding Of Its Flights

U.S. regulators and government officials in Turks and Caicos are investigating reports of property damage in the island nation caused by debris from a SpaceX Starship vehicle that exploded over the ocean during a test mission.

The FAA will later issue a list of corrective actions SpaceX must undertake to resume test flights. I Photo: SpaceX X

This was reported by Jackie Wattles and Kia Fatahi for CNN, citing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Flights of the spacecraft and rocket system have been grounded pending an investigation into the mishap, the agency confirmed in a statement. Both the FAA and Turks and Caicos officials stated that there were no reported injuries.

Authorities routinely halt rocket flights to conduct what is known as a “mishap investigation” when launches or flights deviate from the plan. SpaceX confirmed that it would lead the investigation.

The FAA will later issue a list of corrective actions the company must undertake to resume test flights.

The SpaceX vehicle disintegrated partway through its seventh uncrewed test flight — approximately 10 minutes into a mission launched from South Texas. A shower of debris led the FAA to temporarily establish a “Debris Response Area,” which forced planes to reroute and caused a series of travel delays.