Elon Musk recently crashed and burned a SpaceX rocket attempting to fall from his first high-altitude ride. The billionaire is in hot water with the federal government for breaching his test permit's conditions, The Verge wrote.
Shortly after the December 9 launch of the Starship spacecraft, the Federal Aviation Administration opened an inquiry concentrating on both the catastrophic landing and SpaceX's enforcement with the license conditions, according to the two people familiar with the matter. They didn't say what requirements were broken.
SpaceX did not answer Reuters' request for information.
When the 16-story Starship struck the deck, the flight terminated in a fiery explosion. The rocket was the concept for the heavy-lift launch vehicle of SpaceX, developed to transport passengers and freight to the moon and Mars on flights.
Elon Musk Shares SN9, SN10 Starships Pictures; Did It Launch?
Recently, CEO Elon Musk posted pictures of SN9 and SN10 Starships' towering pair standing alone on an open field waiting for the former's launch in Boca Chica, South Texas. The picture shows the SN9 and SN10 that have yet to get their training round until it goes to test the Raptors in the air alongside SN8 and SN9 in their feat.
Starship SN9 & SN10 pic.twitter.com/urtPJn7amo
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 29, 2021
On Monday, February 1, SpaceX seems to be planning to try another Starship SN9 launch attempt, but it is uncertain whether it would have FAA clearance by then. It has also started carrying out its next concept, SN10, for its near-future test flight, caught by photographers in some breathtaking photos.
The moon just rose between Starship SN9 and Starship SN10. pic.twitter.com/S88QalYrD9
— John Kraus (@johnkrausphotos) January 30, 2021
FAA Has a Fundamentally Flawed Regulatory Structure, Musk Says; Who Agrees?
The technology CEO has been irritated with the numerous delays this week, especially with the Space Division of the FAA or Federal Aviation Authority, which is the key agency implementing laws among space agencies. Musk also went so far as to label the rules and regulations of the FAA Space in a tweet to be 'broken system,' with the CEO voicing his dismay orally.
The CEO of SpaceX has stated that under the FAA's rules and regulations, "humanity will never get to Mars," which is the target of Musk, supported by his organization.
Unlike its aircraft division, which is fine, the FAA space division has a fundamentally broken regulatory structure.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2021
Their rules are meant for a handful of expendable launches per year from a few government facilities. Under those rules, humanity will never get to Mars.
One of the reasons for the lack of clearance, though, according to Joey Roulette's reporting for The Verge, was that the explosion of SN8 in December upon landing actually breached the conditions of the launch license for SpaceX.
Some sided with Musk in the lines, per Forbes report. David Masten, CTO of Masten Space Systems, a California-based aerospace startup, described the "BS" regulations on Twitter.
Although Masten acknowledged that regulation is not always harmful, he said in another post that the particular rules are often not right for a scenario and can often encourage less protection rather than more safety.
But others leaped to the FAA's protection, especially in a week that included the anniversary of the NASA Space Shuttle Challenger crash that killed all seven astronauts on board on January 28, 1986.
Madison Telles, the Project Assurance Services Engineer for Virgin Orbit, the U.K.-owned launch firm, said SpaceX, like anyone else, would comply with commercial licensing criteria.
Check out more news and information on SpaceX on Science Times.
