The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently completed its review of the SpaceX Starship Flight 9 accident, determining that a fuel component failure was the root cause of the destruction of the Super Heavy booster and upper stage rocket, but that no public safety concerns were raised. This conclusion clears the way for the next launch, with Flight 10 potentially taking place as early as August 24th.
Flight 9 was the first reusable test of the Super Heavy booster. SpaceX abandoned the tower recovery plan in favor of a sea return, resulting in the booster's breakup and the upper stage crashing over the Indian Ocean. However, the company emphasized that the debris did not harm marine life and was working with specialized agencies to clean up the debris off the coasts of Texas and Mexico.
To mitigate risks, SpaceX plans to adjust the reentry angle and add a landing fire test for Flight 10. This mission will be the first attempt to deploy a payload and restart the Raptor engine in space. Although the three previous flights failed due to rapid upper stage rocket breakdown (RUD), Starship remains a key vehicle for NASA's Artemis program.
As the most powerful rocket in history, standing approximately 122 meters tall and boasting a thrust of 16 million pounds, Starship has been approved by the FAA for 25 launches per year. With the acceleration of technological iterations, whether it can achieve stable recovery and breakthroughs in deep space missions will become a new focus in the commercial space industry.
