During the 9 December test flight, the SpaceX rocket managed to successfully launch and fly for over six miles, though it exploded upon landing.
During the test flight of its SN8 Starship prototype in December 2020, SpaceX ignored at least two warnings from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over the safety of the launch, The Verge reports, citing confidential documents and letters.
During the test, the SN8 prototype managed to liftoff and fly for more than six miles over the company’s facilities in Texas, only to explode during landing.
According to the media outlet, on the day of the launch, 9 December, FAA officials repeatedly rejected SpaceX’s weather and launch modelling data during “ad hoc meetings” with the company’s employees.
While SpaceX paused the countdown clock after the FAA refused its request to waive the safety threshold, the company’s launch director then restarted after believing the data was sufficient, the media outlet notes, citing a five-page report by SpaceX.
About 15 minutes before liftoff, the FAA reportedly “informed SpaceX that the weather data provided was not sufficient,” and mere minutes prior to the launch, an FAA safety inspector warned the company staff via an open phone line that taking off would violate SpaceX’s launch license.
The Verge notes, however, that FAA investigators “couldn’t determine whether the SN8 license violation was intentional,” and that SpaceX has launched four more rockets at the Starship site since then, “all with FAA approval and a few changes to its operations.”
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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