Summary
The FAA and Turks and Caicos officials are investigating SpaceX’s Starship rocket test explosion, which sent debris over the northern Caribbean, forcing flight diversions.
The upgraded Starship exploded over the Bahamas eight minutes after launch, scattering fiery debris that caused intense rumbling in the Turks and Caicos.
Residents described shaking walls and loud booms, likened to a small earthquake.
No injuries were reported, but property damage is under review.
SpaceX cited a fire in the rocket’s aft section as the cause of the failure during its seventh test flight.
But to what end? Would SpaceX be found liable for anything? Would any penalty matter?
To my recollection, SpaceX would not be found liable. The FAA will likely order an investigation into the root cause, and any damage will be compensated by the FAA.
Why would the taxpayers be liable?
I think the responsibility falls on whichever country issued the launch license but NASA not FAA (sorry my bad) due to the some convention (space liability convention?)
I did some reading on this. Looks like the UN 1967 Outer Space Treaty and the 1972 Liability Convention define the “launching state” as being liable for damage caused by space objects, both on Earth and in outer space. Off the latter:
In 1978, the crash of the nuclear-powered Soviet satellite Kosmos 954 in Canadian territory led to the only claim filed under the convention.
Anyway, for the US, the FAA requires companies to carry liability insurance for potential damages caused by their launches. U.S. law caps the company’s liability. The government may cover damages exceeding this cap, but only up to a certain amount.
Basically, SpaceX would likely be responsible for initial claims up to their insurance limits. Beyond that, the U.S. government would step in. Considering how wealthy Mr Musk is, I don’t think taxpayers should be paying a dime to clean a his mess… but the US government is contracting SpaceX.
Richest man in the world and we have to pay to clean up his shrapnel. I have a good feeling he’s going to set a record for the most people pissing on his grave someday.
We need a urinal cake company to step up and start selling grave shaped cakes to piss on.
Could start with Kissinger, or even preemptive graves for Trump or Musk for the less patient.
Maybe Cards Against Humanity could sell them.
Musk will make Trump squash this investigation and remove any barriers from letting him rain debris anywhere he wants.
They’re gonna crush some vacationing stockbroker lol
oooo nooooooo did SpiceX break some of your poors little ruuuuuuleeees? Waahhhhhhhh you better run and tell daddy trump all about it!
Ugh. I wish I could like SpaceX but FOR OBVIOUS REASONS i cannot. Same with Tesla, actually. I think a lot of the bullshit idiocy they’ve perpetrated would be directly tracable to said same reason.
But. It was not to be.
Do you like the Apollo program? Saturn V was a nice rocket? Have a read of Wernher von Braun’s activities during World War II some time.
The fact that Elon Musk is an awful person has nothing to do with the capabilities of Starship. It’s a good rocket.
It has potential to be a good rocket, but I’ll be interested to see if it becomes the revolutionary rocket that Elon says it will be.
The first stage has basically been proven out at this point. That alone makes it revolutionary, the world’s most powerful first stage booster and it’s fully reusable. Even if the upper stage ends up being non-reusable the increase in capacity and reduction in cost is enormous.
And I see no fundamental reason why the upper stage won’t be made reusable. The first two Starship reentry tests got toasty but the rocket survived to do a precise, controlled landing in the ocean. That’s most of the way there.
The first stage has basically been proven out at this point. That alone makes it revolutionary, the world’s most powerful first stage booster and it’s fully reusable.
Oh its proven, its fully reusable?
Is it proven to be fully reusable?
Has … that happened?
No, no it has not.
Every Starship Booster that has been in every IFT launch other than the latest one, 7, has either exploded, been decommissioned/disassembled, or been scuttled and sunk.
I seriously doubt that Booster 14, used in this most recent IFT 7 launch, will ever be reused.
Even if the upper stage ends up being non-reusable the increase in capacity and reduction in cost is enormous.
Sure, $3 billion+ US taxpayer dollars went toward the development of a lunar landing and return vehicle, but its fine, only 3 years behind schedule without achieving orbit or having a payload beyond ‘banana’, which has literally 0 design put toward orbital refueling or even a crew compartment/habitation module, its fine, its fine.
And I see no fundamental reason why the upper stage won’t be made reusable. The first two Starship reentry tests got toasty but the rocket survived to do a precise, controlled landing in the ocean. That’s most of the way there.
I wonder how hot it gets inside during reentry.
Mildly important for human crewed missions, but I’m sure they’ll just be fine inside of a barren steel cavity.
Anyway, have any actual Starships been proven to be reusable?
No?
Ok then, you keep believing the worlds wealthiest known serial liar, I’ll continue being horrified this clown isn’t in a padded room.
I said basically proven out. They launched the booster and they got it back. What, specifically, do you think is the obstacle to reusing it? What insurmountable problem do they still have to work out? Obviously they’re going to continue refining the design, but the design fundamentally works.
Sure, $3 billion+ US taxpayer dollars went toward the development of a lunar landing and return vehicle,
Starship was being developed regardless of that contract. SpaceX is developing it to launch their Starlink satellites. The lunar lander contract is a bonus.
Just work on the presumption that Gwynne Shotwell is running SpaceX.
Ah yes, we’re all waiting for her to figure out how to refurb a Starship Booster and/or Starship in 2 hrs akin to a jet aircraft, I’m sure that’s right around the corner.
I’m sure she’ll get right on that after she realizes there are no major civillian airport traffic destinations in the world where a rocket could be launched from or landed at that wouldn’t require a 1 to 2 hour ferry ride out to sea or a 1 to 2 hr bus ride or new train line on land for safety and extreme noise level reasons.
Kinda makes the whole time savings concept totally moot.
