(Reuters) – SpaceX’s first high-altitude flight test of its Starship rocket, which exploded last month as it tried to land after a successful launch of the test, violated the terms of its Federal Aviation Administration test license, it reported Friday Verge, citing sources.
An investigation was opened that week, focusing on the explosive landing and SpaceX’s refusal to abide by the terms of what the FAA authorized, Verge said.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The crash-destroyed Starship rocket was a 16-story prototype of the heavy-duty launch vehicle developed by entrepreneur billionaire private space company Elon Musk to carry people and 100 tons of cargo on future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The self-guided rocket exploded as it hit a landing pad following a controlled descent. The test flight was designed to reach an altitude of 41,000 feet, powered by three of SpaceX’s newly developed Raptor engines for the first time.
But the company made it unclear if the rocket flew so high.
The FAA said it would evaluate the additional information provided by SpaceX as part of its request to amend its launch license.
“We will only approve the change after we are convinced that SpaceX has taken the necessary steps to comply with regulatory requirements,” he said in a statement.
Report by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru and David Shepardson in Washington; Montages of Raju Gopalakrishnan