--- title: "FAA Says It Will Investigate SpaceX’s Latest Starship Explosion" description: "The Federal Aviation Administration will now \"oversee the investigation of [Tuesday's] landing mishap\" involving SpaceX's SN9 Starship prototype." date: "2021-02-03" modified: "2021-02-03" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/faa-investigate-latest-spacex-starship-explosion" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # FAA Says It Will Investigate SpaceX’s Latest Starship Explosion ![The Federal Aviation Administration will now "oversee the investigation of \[Tuesday's\] landing mishap" involving SpaceX's SN9 Starship prototype.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## FAA Drama SpaceX's second massive Starship prototype, dubbed SN9, [exploded in a gigantic fireball]() after another hard landing on Tuesday afternoon — and the Federal Aviation Administration is not happy about it. The FAA is officially investigating the explosion, according to [a new statement]() it issued last night. The agency said in the statement that it will "oversee the investigation of \[Tuesday's\] landing mishap" involving SN9 to "identify the root cause" and "further enhance safety as the program develops." ## Fireball 2.0 The Elon Musk-led space company already got into hot water with the FAA following the first [massive Starship fireball in December]() involving the company's SN8 prototype. According to a second [FAA statement](), SpaceX didn't follow the safety rules and "proceeded with the December launch without demonstrating that the public risk from far field blast overpressure was within" regulatory criteria. Earlier this week, the [FAA warned SpaceX]() not to launch the SN9 prototype, saying the planned launch exceeded "maximum public risk allowed by safety regulations." The regulator then [forced SpaceX to scrub]() the launch, which was originally planned for Friday. ## Doin' It Live After finally [obtaining FAA clearance](), SN9 launched ten kilometers into the air and crashed down in spectacular fashion on Tuesday. But following the violent event, the FAA is now investigating. We're unlikely to hear from Musk about the company's response. "Off Twitter for a while," [he tweeted]() early Tuesday morning. **More on the saga:** *[Another SpaceX Starship Just Blew Up in a Humongous Explosion]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()