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The FAA has announced that it will investigate last week’s spectacular landing of SpaceX’s SN9 spacecraft prototype in Texas. The silo-shaped rocket performed flawlessly during launch at 50,000 feet, where it hovered briefly before doing its “belly flop” maneuver to descend. One of the motors needed to brake the rocket on its final descent did not ignite and the vehicle struck the ground and exploded. Musk later said all three engines should have been turned on and another shut down to make sure there were two working rockets for landing. It was the latest in a series of pyrotechnics in Starship tests and was delayed by the FAA due to a license violation on the previous test flight, which ended similarly. It also appeared to escalate a skirmish between SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and the regulator.
After the FAA delayed the SN9 test, Musk tore up the agency on Twitter. After last Tuesday’s light show, he announced he was taking a Twitter hiatus. The FAA had something to say, however. “The FAA will oversee the investigation into (Tuesday’s) landing accident involving the SpaceX Starship SN9 prototype in Boca Chica, Texas,” a spokesperson for the agency told CNN. “Although this is an unmanned test flight, the investigation will identify the root cause of today’s crash and possible opportunities to further improve safety as the program grows. . “
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