By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, May 27 (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration ordered SpaceX to investigate why its Starship booster suffered a mishap and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico during a test flight last week, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday.
The FAA said 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.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The FAA added that there were no reports of injuries to members of the public or damage to public property. The FAA said it will oversee the SpaceX-led investigation, be involved in every step of the process, and approve the company’s final report, including any corrective actions.
The probe is designed to boost public safety, determine the cause of the mishap, and identify actions to prevent it from happening again.
The FAA said it will approve a return to flight of the Starship-Super Heavy vehicle after ensuring any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Paul Simao)
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