FAA Asks SpaceX to Investigate Starship Booster That Fell into the Gulf of Mexico

JAKARTA - The United States Federal Aviation Administration or FAA ordered SpaceX to investigate the Starship booster incident that fell into the Gulf of Mexico during a test flight last week.

Quoted from NBC News, Thursday, May 28, the FAA stated that the launch of Starship Flight 12 on May 22 resulted in an incident on the Super Heavy booster. The booster was problematic when flying back to the Gulf of Mexico after separating the rocket stage.

There were no reports of injuries in the community. The FAA also said there was no damage to public property.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The FAA will oversee the SpaceX-led investigation. The agency will be involved in every stage of the process and approve the final report, including the corrective measures to be taken.

The investigation aims to determine the cause of the incident, improve public safety, and prevent similar incidents from occurring again.

The FAA said it would grant Starship-Super Heavy re-flight permission after SpaceX completed its investigation and ensured that the factors related to the incident did not affect public safety.