PROTOTYPE 3 NEWS UPDATE

The FAA's launch oversight is typically done remotely, but with the recent violation by SpaceX, the agency is taking a more hands-on approach and requiring an inspector to be on site. (It subsequently exploded a few minutes after landing.) Those two prototypes suffered the same fate as SN8, however, SN10 was the first to land intact. After a thorough review of the company's operational and decision-making process in regards to its Starship program, the FAA gave SpaceX the go-ahead to launch both SN9 and SN10. That test flight ended in a massive fireball, however, there were no reports of any damage to property outside of SpaceX's test site.ДЄs a result of that explosion, the FAA asked SpaceX to investigate the anomaly, and delayed the flight of its next prototype, SN9. In December, the FAA cautioned that the SN8 flight profile exceeded maximum allowed risk for the public in the event of an explosion.

The change is a new policy for this test flight and stems from the fact that SpaceX violated its launch license back in December during the launch of its SN8 prototype. The license states that any test flight can take place 'only when an FAA Safety Inspector is present at SpaceX's Boca Chica launch and landing site.' The agency now requires an inspector to be on site for all Starship launches, according to the latest launch license that was issued on March 12.

PROTOTYPE 3 NEWS UPDATE

'FAA inspector unable to reach Starbase in time for launch today,' Musk wrote in an update on Twitter. (The agency oversees commercial space launches, and needs to have a representative on site for all Starship launches.) The flight, which was the company's second flight test of a Starship rocket this month, was originally planned for Monday afternoon, but was pushed back when an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) could not make it to Boca Chica in time for the launch. A view of the SN11 launch as seen through the thick fog at Boca Chica, Texas, on March 30, 2021.

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