2023-09-12 11:01:33
Just five months following its explosion in mid-flight, the largest and most powerful rocket in the world planned to try once more to enter space in September. “Starship is ready to launch and awaiting license approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),” SpaceX boss Elon Musk proudly tweeted on September 6. But its ambitions were stopped short: on September 8, the American agency responsible for regulating the aviation sector published the conclusions of his investigation on the malfunctions which led to the self-destruction of the rocket less than four minutes following takeoff on April 20. Result: the FAA requires no less than “63 corrective measures” before the SpaceX monster can take off once more from the Boca Chica launch site, Texas.
Failure to respect environmental protection
In addition to numerous safety measures, including a redesign of the vehicle’s hardware to prevent leaks and fires, a correction of the launch pad to increase its robustness and the integration of additional examinations into the design process, the FAA urges SpaceX to meet new environmental requirements. As a reminder, the explosion of the mega rocket, almost 120 meters high, provoked the ire of environmental NGOs for the unprecedented damage that the accident had caused. In particular, they had filed a legal action for non-compliance with environmental protection rules.
Unsurprisingly, the FAA’s conclusions somewhat irritated the boss of SpaceX, who responded the next day using his favorite weapon, Twitter (renamed X). Not without irony, in a publication dated September 9, Elon Musk presented the second Starship rocket on a launch pad, ready to take off, with no other description than “Starship, flight number 2”. And following all, who the hell dares to interfere with Elon Musk’s projects? The billionaire did not stop there and returned to the charge the next day by publishing a list of 57 modifications made out of the 63 requested. For the remaining six, he specified that they will be carried out on “subsequent flights”.
A crucial takeoff for NASA
Behind this standoff, the rapid and smooth launch of the mega rocket represents a major challenge for SpaceX: its Starship vessel, which corresponds to the second stage of the rocket, will be the one which will allow the moon landing of the Artemis 3 mission of NASA, planned for 2025. So there is no question of falling behind and risking compromising this historic mission, which should allow American astronauts to return to the Moon, almost half a century later.
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