The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to investigate what went wrong on their respective
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and officials from the Turks and Caicos Islands have launched probes into SpaceX's explosive Starship rocket test that sent debris streaking over the northern Caribbean and forced airlines to divert dozens of flights.
The FAA said that there has been no reports of injuries related to falling debris, but some public property in Turks and Caicos were reportedly damaged.
The "rapid unscheduled disassembly" was likely caused by a propellant leak, Elon Musk said, and was captured on video by spectators on the ground.
Authorities in Turks and Caicos Islands confirmed they diverted all flights from airspace during the explosion and urged residents not to touch fallen debris.
After exploding, the craft sent blazing debris across the sky and forced multiple aircraft flying over and near the Caribbean to divert.
Government officials in Turks and Caicos said Friday that debris from a SpaceX rocket test that went awry fell over the Caribbean islands but that there have been no reported injuries so far and only minimal damages to property.
SpaceX, the private space technology company owned by Elon Musk, is asking federal authorities to approve a new round of tests for a prototype reusable rocket, but some of them may never make it back to the surface intact and will crash in the ocean.
The FAA grounded SpaceX’s Starship pending an investigation into the failure that caused the rocket to break apart midflight after launching on Thursday.
The incident in which a SpaceX rocket broke up after launch demonstrates the challenges the FAA will face as the number of commercial space flights increases.
Despite the failure, Elon Musk appeared to see the bright side, posting: "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!"