SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Grounded by FAA Pending Investigation into Recent V3 (Flight 12) Launch
The FAA's halt of Starship, pending an investigation into the recent V3 launch, is in keeping with common procedural steps implemented when launches go awry.
(Starbase, Texas) The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has halted launches of SpaceX’s Starship rocket pending an investigation into its recent (May 22) launch, the agency said today.
Image of SpaceX’s Starship V3 launch courtesy of SpaceX.
The FAA said that it determined the SpaceX Starship Flight 12 launch on May 22 resulted in a mishap that involved its Super Heavy booster as it flew back to the Gulf of Mexico after stage separation, according to Reuters.
The mishap probe is a common procedural step the FAA conducts when a launch goes awry.
While SpaceX’s 12th test flight of its Starship prototype since 2023 – and the first of its V3 iteration – was largely successful, it failed to achieve a controlled landing of the Super Heavy booster.
During the May 22 flight, one of Starship’s six engines shut down early, but the FAA did not indicate that it would be investigating that issue, per Bloomberg.
