spacetoday.net: FAA closes investigation into second Starship launch

Posted: Sat, Mar 2, 2024, 9:54 AM ET (1454 GMT)
Starship/Super Heavy launch on IFT-2 (SpaceX)

The FAA has closed its investigation into the second Starship test flight as SpaceX gears up for the third. The FAA said Monday it accepted SpaceX's finding of 17 corrective actions, 7 for the Super Heavy booster and 10 for the Starship upper stage, that came from the November launch. On that launch, the Super Heavy booster performed as expected through stage separation but suffered a cascading series of engine failures as it descended, causing it to break apart. The Starship upper stage was destroyed after fires broke out when liquid oxygen leaked while being vented late in its ascent. The FAA noted that SpaceX still needs an updated license before its next launch, although agency officials earlier said that the license modification should be ready ahead the launch SpaceX is planning by mid-March.