- Jul 2, 2003
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A SpaceX Starship spacecraft, the upper portion of the most powerful launch system ever built, exploded during its eighth test flight Thursday, disrupting air traffic and marking the second consecutive failure for the vehicle this year.
The uncrewed Starship mission lifted off at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET) from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas, with the spacecraft riding atop a 232-foot-tall (71-meter-tall) Super Heavy rocket booster.
After about 2 ½ minutes of firing, the Super Heavy booster separated as planned from the Starship’s upper stage, setting itself up for a successful landing within the “chopstick” arms of “Mechazilla,” or SpaceX’s launch tower near Brownsville, Texas. It’s the third time SpaceX has successfully executed the chopsticks booster catch.
But less than 10 minutes into the flight, the Starship craft, which had continued on toward space, began to experience issues. Several of the vehicle’s engines visibly cut out during the livestream, and the ship began to tumble before SpaceX lost contact with it.
How did it affect the US? But the explosion was visible from parts of Florida and over the Caribbean, according to reports from residents of those locations that were shared with CNN.
The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights into Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando airports Thursday evening for “falling space debris” until 8 p.m. ET.
The FAA also temporarily kept flights from departing from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport. Flights leaving those airports were still delayed on average by 30 and 45 minutes, respectively, as of Thursday night.
Seven weeks ago, the same type of Space X rocket exploded over the Turks and Caicos. The FAA was investigating that and other things with Space X.Since Musk and his DOGE have gotten Trump's approval after Jan. 20th, there are been people fired from FAA. There are reports of threats by DOGE.
FAA workers threatened with firing if they ‘impede’ SpaceX fed deal: Report
Elon Musk has been at the center of potential conflicts of interest since his political ascendance
www.the-independent.com
A SpaceX operative has threatened Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees with termination if they stand in the way of agency work by the company, which could lead to a lucrative federal contract, according to a report.
SpaceX engineer Ted Malaska last month instructed employees at the FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C. to “immediately start work on a program to deploy thousands of the company’s Starlink satellite terminals to support the national airspace system,” Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.
Malaska, who also works as a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) volunteer, warned FAA workers that anyone who “impeded” his work would be reported to Musk and “risked losing their jobs,” sources told Bloomberg.
Malaska is a temporary special government employee, and is working for DOGE even as he retains his engineering job at Musk’s SpaceX......
The federal government currently has a $2.4 billion contract with Verizon to revamp the FAA that’s now being sought by Musk for Starlink. The FAA is now reportedly “close to canceling” the Verizon deal to overhaul the system integral to supporting U.S. air traffic control and handing it to Musk’s company, according toThe Washington Post.
Bloomberg noted that administration officials are not sure how much SpaceX should receive for the directed work, given conflict of interest concerns about Musk. It’s unclear if the work by Musk’s company has officially been authorized.
Seems to me that the whole purpose of Musk's Doge, who is an unelected bureaucrat, is to enrich himself and his companies.
