The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded SpaceX's Starship prototypes pending the results of a "mishap investigation" following this month's explosive orbital flight test. https://t.co/3kcpXE744z pic.twitter.com/qAjr6AYznB
— IGN (@IGN) April 25, 2023
… Thankfully, no injuries have been documented as a result of the launch. However, the debris field was found to be significantly larger than the 700-acre region projected in the event of an explosion on the launch pad. As reported by CNBC, windows were smashed, and particulate debris fell on the town of Port Isabel, some six miles from the lift-off site…
Any debris from the launch encountered by the public should be reported, and given a wide berth, as experts are not yet sure whether the material is hazardous if directly handled or inhaled.
The FAA has now grounded Starship prototypes as it conducts a thorough “mishap investigation” designed to determine issues with the launch vehicle, their effect on the environment, and to ensure the safety of the nearby population for subsequent launches.
Each commercial launch licence handed out by the FAA requires the user to have an approved mishap plan in place detailing what should happen in the event of an issue arising during a launch, and so the FAA’s move to halt Starship launches is both inevitable and predictable.
What we don’t know is how long the probe will delay the Starship program. Mishap investigations can last several months, and the FAA will want to be satisfied that any “system, process, or procedure related to the mishap” will not put the public’s safety at risk during the next launch attempt.
SpaceX will also need to complete additional “environmental mitigations” according to an email from the FAA sent to CNBC. This is because debris from the launch entered “adjacent properties” during the recent orbital attempt…
Musk’s standard response to such ‘nanny-state interference’ has been a combination of PR bullsh*t and legal obfuscation, but recently his magikal mad promotional skillz have taken a battering and he’s laid off a lot of the lawyers, so who knows what happens now? He certainly won’t give up his God-Emperor of Mars fantasies easily, but will the FAA take a less lackadaisical stance towards his future move fast, break stuff endeavors?
Thomas Edison once told a reporter “I have not failed 10,000 times—I've successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” And after he got credulous media to print his punchy quotes, he went back to taking credit for other people's work. I forget where I was going with this. https://t.co/mx1Zsi0fEj
— Zack Budryk (@BudrykZack) April 24, 2023
Not saying I 100% endorse the following thread, but I appreciate its arguments…
another environmental catastrophe for the surrounding wetlands, but gee whiz we sure learned a lot, and with NASA's help and millions in diverted public funding, we've nearly caught up to the success rate of late 50s NASA!
one a these days, alice! pow! right to the moon! https://t.co/viwMmZye55
— some native (@heyMAKWA) April 20, 2023
also, NASA failures were subject to public oversight, on account of how they were spending money supplied by the taxpayers of america!
SpaceX is also spending your tax dollars through parasitising NASA labour and skill, but will never be subject to public oversight. cos Elon!
SpaceX will never be required to locate and retrieve every piece of a failed rocket bigger than a quarter, and spend the time to work out what actually went wrong…
Open Science-vs-Hype Thread: SpaceX On PausePost + Comments (78)