--- title: "New Details Emerge About FAA’s Shutdown of SpaceX Starship Launch" description: "A few tantalizing details are emerging about why the FAA nixed SpaceX's latest planned Starship launch, though we still lack a full understanding." date: "2021-01-29" modified: "2021-01-29" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/new-details-faa-shutdown-spacex-starship" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" tags: - "elon musk" - "FAA" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # New Details Emerge About FAA’s Shutdown of SpaceX Starship Launch ![A few tantalizing details are emerging about why the FAA nixed SpaceX's latest planned Starship launch, though we still lack a full understanding.]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Starship Shutdown Yesterday, SpaceX [had been planning]() a high altitude flight test of its experimental Starship spacecraft, which is intended to shuttle passengers and cargo into Earth's orbit and even as far as the Moon and Mars. But its plans were halted by the Federal Aviation Administration, which shut down the planned launch — prompting an [enraged response]() from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. SpaceX tried again today, but the FAA [put the kibosh]() on the plans again. Now, a few tantalizing details are emerging about why the FAA nixed the launches, though we still lack a full explanation for the dramatic last-minute cancellations. ## Unexpected Shutdown *SpaceNews* journalist Jeff Foust [says he spoke to a source]() familiar with the discussions between the FAA and SpaceX — in other words, it's not clear which of the two groups the source represents — who told him that the FAA had requested additional information about the SN9 version of Starship. Foust also pointed out that just days prior to the conflict, on Jan. 26, FAA associate administrator Wayne Monteith made remarks at an industry event that seemed to allude to the eagerness of commercial space startups to test rockets as rapidly as possible — and said that CEOs like Musk could even call him directly if there were issues. "CEOs and presidents of companies also have my direct line," Monteith said at the event, according to Foust. "They can reach out to me directly if our teams are miscommunicating or not communicating well with each other." ## Final Countdown Another clue emerged on SpaceX's official Starship page on its website, which [as late as this morning]() still said that the launch was tentatively scheduled for February 29. But by the afternoon, the [line had been updated](). "As early as Monday, February 1, the SpaceX team will attempt a high-altitude flight test of Starship serial number 9 (SN9) — the second high-altitude suborbital flight test of a Starship prototype from our site in Cameron County, Texas," it now reads. Meanwhile, the company wheeled both the SN9 and SN10 prototypes out onto the launch area today. It's not clear why, but it did result in an extraordinary photo opportunity: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1355255403945332737 **READ MORE:** [FAA reviews delay SpaceX Starship test]() \[*SpaceNews*\] **More on Starship:** *[Here’s What SpaceX’s Massive New Floating Spaceport Look Like Up Close]()* ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()