FAA Starship Flight 7 Mishap Investigation Closed
Probe into Flight 8 is Ongoing
The FAA-required investigation of the SpaceX Starship Flight 7 mishap on Jan. 16 is closed. There were no public injuries and one confirmed report of minor vehicle damage in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The FAA oversaw and accepted the findings of the SpaceX-led investigation. The final mishap report cites the probable root cause for the loss of the Starship vehicle was stronger than anticipated vibrations during flight led to increased stress on, and failure of, the hardware in the propulsion system. SpaceX identified 11 corrective actions to prevent a reoccurrence of the event. The FAA verified that SpaceX implemented corrective actions prior to Flight 8.
According to SpaceX, after vehicle separation, Starship's six second stage Raptor engines powered the vehicle along its expected trajectory. Approximately two minutes into its burn, a flash was observed in the aft section of the vehicle near one of the Raptor vacuum engines. This aft section, commonly referred to as the attic, is an unpressurized area between the bottom of the liquid oxygen tank and the aft heatshield. Sensors in the attic detected a pressure rise indicative of a leak after the flash was seen.
Roughly two minutes later, another flash was observed followed by sustained fires in the attic. These eventually caused all but one of Starship’s engines to execute controlled shut down sequences and ultimately led to a loss of communication with the ship. Telemetry from the vehicle was last received just over eight minutes and 20 seconds into flight.
Contact with Starship was lost prior to triggering any destruct rules for its Autonomous Flight Safety System, which was fully healthy when communication was lost. The vehicle was observed to break apart approximately three minutes after loss of contact during descent. Post-flight analysis indicates that the safety system did trigger autonomously, and breakup occurred within Flight Termination System expectations.
The most probable root cause for the loss of ship was identified as a harmonic response several times stronger in flight than had been seen during testing, which led to increased stress on hardware in the propulsion system. The subsequent propellant leaks exceeded the venting capability of the ship’s attic area and resulted in sustained fires.
The FAA is overseeing the SpaceX-led investigation of the Starship Flight 8 mishap that occurred on March 6. The investigation remains open. A return to flight of the Starship vehicle is based on public safety. SpaceX may not launch Starship again until the FAA accepts the final mishap investigation report or makes a return to flight determination and all other licensing requirements are met. Contact SpaceX for more information.