FAA requiring investigation into SpaceX Starship's Flight 7 explosion

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is requiring an investigation into what went wrong during the seventh-ever test flight of SpaceX's Starship megarocket yesterday (Jan. 16).

The launch, from SpaceX's Starbase site in South Texas, went well at first. Starship got off the pad successfully, and its two stages — the Super Heavy booster and Ship spacecraft — separated on time. And the giant booster came back to Starbase, where it was caught by the launch tower's "chopstick" arms.

Ship was less successful, however. The flight plan called for the upper stage to deploy 10 dummy satellites about 17.5 minutes after liftoff and splash down in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia 50 minutes later. But that didn't happen; the 171-foot-tall (52 meters) craft exploded about 8.5 minutes after launch, raining debris over the Atlantic Ocean near the Turks and Caicos islands.

Today (Jan. 17), the FAA announced that it's requiring a mishap investigation into the incident, to determine its root cause and implement corrective actions.

That work may not take too long. SpaceX has already identified a likely proximate cause, according to company founder and CEO Elon Musk — a propellant leak, which led to a fire in Ship's aft section.

Related: SpaceX catches Super Heavy booster on Starship Flight 7 test but loses upper stage (video, photos)

Ship's explosion had some real-world impact beyond creating a dramatic sky show, according to the FAA. While no injuries have been reported, the agency "is working with SpaceX and appropriate authorities to confirm reports of public property damage on Turks and Caicos," FAA officials wrote in an emailed statement today.

"During the event, the FAA activated a Debris Response Area and briefly slowed aircraft outside the area where space vehicle debris was falling or stopped aircraft at their departure location," the agency added. "Several aircraft requested to divert due to low fuel levels while holding outside impacted areas."

SpaceX will lead the mishap investigation, but the FAA must approve the company's final report, according to the agency, which grants launch licenses for U.S. vehicles.

"A return to flight is based on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety," the agency wrote in today's statement.

SpaceX wants to get Starship back on the pad quickly. The company intends to make big strides this year on the megarocket, which it's developing to help humanity settle Mars, among other exploration feats.

"The ship and booster for Starship’s eighth flight test are built and going through prelaunch testing and preparing to fly as we continue a rapid iterative development process to build a fully and rapidly reusable space transportation system," SpaceX wrote yesterday in a post-Flight 7 blog post.