SpaceX Starship Explosion Sets Off FAA Investigation, Assessment of Particulate Matter Spread Written 25 April 2023
SpaceX's Starship launches from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, April 20, 2023. The rocket exploded minutes after blasting off on it first test flight and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. | Credit: Eric Gay; Associated Press–©
CNBC reports that as SpaceX faces a standard practice FAA grounding of its “Starship Super Heavy launch program pending results of a ‘mishap investigation’” over the explosion of its vehicle last week, researchers also “are scrambling to assess the impact of the explosion on local communities, their health, habitat and wildlife including endangered species.” The primary issue “is the large amount of sand- and ash-like particulate matter and heavier debris kicked up by the launch. The particulate emissions spread far beyond the expected debris field,” which SpaceX “did not accurately predict.”
Full Story (CNBC)