FAA clears SpaceX for another Starship test flight after explosion in January
SpaceX has attained authorization from regulators to fly its massive Starship rocket once again, the FAA announced Friday.
Elon Musk's SpaceX has attained authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly its massive Starship rocket once again, the space regulator announced Friday.
The Starship rocket broke up during the company's seventh test flight in January. The explosion caused debris to rain down over Turks and Caicos, and forced several commercial flights to be diverted or delayed, CNBC previously reported.
The FAA granted the modified license to SpaceX, which has a $350 billion private market valuation, even though the company has yet to complete its mishap investigation, required after the January explosion. The space regulator has previously authorized flights by companies including SpaceX and Rocket Lab while mishap investigations were still underway, a spokesperson told CNBC by email.
Last year, the FAA fined SpaceX $633,009 in civil penalties for what it alleged were safety and procedural violations in the lead-up to two 2023 launches. SpaceX was also fined by the Environmental Protection Agency for polluting waters in Texas in violation of the Clean Water Act.
After those fines, Musk threatened to sue the FAA for "regulatory overreach" but never filed a complaint.