Welcome to this edition of The Intelligence Brief… where it’s all eyes on SpaceX again as the company’s latest Starship prototype crash left an all-new crater near its Boca Chica launch site on Tuesday. Hence, items in the queue this week include 1) what caused the latest in the company’s string of crashes, 2) issues the company may be facing as investigations into the cause of the crash are undertaken by the FAA, and 3) what caused the Department of Justice to issue a subpoena one day before the crash, which a judge recommends SpaceX should be forced to comply with.
Before we get into things, over at The Debrief this week we’re following a number of stories that include warp drives requiring no “exotic matter,” as well as some of the economic issues related to electric cars. You might also be interested to see the latest regarding the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration’s new images of a black hole in nearby galaxy M87, and finally, DARPA’s efforts to create an “unhackable” computer chip. As always, we’ll have more of our trending stories from the last few days at the end of this newsletter… which it’s about time we dive into now.
History Repeats with Another Starship Prototype Crash
History repeats itself, or so the saying goes… but usually it takes a little more time for that to occur than it did SpaceX to launch another of its Starship prototypes which, like in previous instances, was destroyed while attempting to land after an otherwise successful launch.
Tuesday’s launch, which saw the company’s fourth in a series of high-altitude test flights of its Starship prototype, had a promising liftoff from its Starbase in Texas. However, Starship Serial Number 11, or SN11, began to experience problems as it entered its landing burn and, like previous test launches of the company’s new spacecraft prototype, was destroyed while attempting to land.
Viewers had difficulty seeing the landing attempt on account of multiple factors, which included the video feed freezing just prior to the destruction of the SN11, as well as fog around the landing site.
“At least the crater is in the right place!” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said after the incident in a Tweet, also clarifying that the prototype’s second engine appears to have experienced technical problems while still in the ascent stage, preventing it from reaching the optimal chamber pressure required for the subsequent landing phase.
Musk added that “in theory, [the second engine] wasn’t needed,” and that SpaceX planned to investigate “something significant” that occurred just after the spacecraft entered its landing burn.
“Shortly after the landing burn started, SN11 experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly,” read a statement posted at the SpaceX website. “Teams will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test.”
The company’s official statement reiterated that test flights like those SpaceX has carried out in recent months are just that: test flights, which are “all about improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration interplanetary flights, and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond.”
Enter the FAA, Again
Following the test flight and subsequent crash of the SN11, the FAA said it will be overseeing investigations into the cause of the crash.
“The [Starship] vehicle experienced an anomaly during the landing phase of the flight resulting in loss of the vehicle,” said an FAA spokesperson who was on-site at the SpaceX launch area in Texas when the test occurred.
“The FAA will approve the final mishap investigation report and any corrective actions SpaceX must take before return to flight is authorized,” the spokesperson added.
As with past test flights of the Starship prototype, no injuries were reported after Tuesday’s mishap. However, images appearing online after the crash showed shrapnel from the SN11 that had been found as much as five miles from its crash site after the explosion which destroyed the prototype.
As The Debrief and other outlets have previously reported, SpaceX has already found itself at odds with FAA policies in the past, with the company even going so far as to proceed with its launches without complete approval from the agency, whose primary job is to oversee civil aviation safety and regulation.
Elon Musk has been particularly vocal about his distaste for the agency’s policies, which may, in truth, actually require some revisions and updates in the years ahead, as more and more participation by civilian space agencies continues to be the norm.
Other Agency Issues for SpaceX
While SpaceX has expressed its issues with the FAA and its policies in recent days, Musk’s company has received its own share of critiques in the aftermath of claims of discrimination against foreign applicants, resulting in a probe that led the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue a subpoena on Monday. A report from Magistrate Judge Michael Wilner the same day also recommended that the company should be forced to comply with the DOJ’s subpoena.
The DOJ’s current probe is one of several investigations into hiring practices by SpaceX currently underway, and was issued despite objections from the company that it represented a “government overreach.” In his report, Wilner stated that “there is an insufficient basis to conclude that the subpoena is overbroad or presents an undue burden to SpaceX.”
In light of the failed pushback form SpaceX, it seems that the aerospace giant’s relationship with the FAA is not unlike the way it gets along with other federal agencies… a dynamic that is unlikely to resolve itself as Musk’s company continues with ambitious plans for the future of human spaceflight, and in particular, the role it hopes the United States will play in leading that effort in the years to come.
That concludes this week’s edition of The Intelligence Brief. Don’t forget to subscribe and get email updates from us here, or read past editions of The Intelligence Brief at our website. And as always, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] the debrief.org.
Meanwhile, here are the top stories we’re covering right now…
- New Cheap Electric Cars Show How Automakers Are Conning The U.S. Market, Inflating Prices
Cheap electric cars are available. The question is, why are Americans and Europeans being ripped off by electric vehicle manufacturers?
- Historic New Images Show Supermassive Black Hole in Polarized Light
Polarized light seen around galaxy M87’s black hole now provides astronomers with clues about the behavior of its magnetic field.
- Study Finds Surprising Connections Between Snake Venom and Our Saliva
Humans and other animals have the same genetic basis for the development of venom like some snakes and other poisonous creatures.
- Second Interstellar Visitor Borisov Is The Most Pristine Comet Ever Observed
New research released today suggests the second interstellar object ever detected, 2I/Borisov, was likely the most pristine comet ever observed.
- Royal Navy’s NavyX Welcomes “Madfox” Autonomous Ship
The Royal Navy recently announced a brand new autonomous surface vessel, the Madfox, is in the hands of the U.K.’s NavyX and will soon be entering the naval fleet.
- New Warp Drive Model Requires No ‘Exotic Matter,’ Scientists Say We Can Build It
Researchers in Sweden have come up with a design for an entirely new version of Warp drive that may actually work.
- New Clues Emerge in the Hunt for Answers to Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts
Scientists may be closing in on the mystery of fast radio bursts, with the help of new time estimates obtained by a team of researchers.
- DARPA is Fighting Hackers by Building The ‘Unhackable’ Computer Chip
DARPA is working to put hackers out of business, particularly for America’s defense industry, by building the “unhackable” computer chip.
- Meteor Shower? Strange Lights Over the Pacific Northwest Had Another Explanation
Stargazers throughout the Pacific Northwest were treated to a striking aerial display on Thursday night, but this bizarre light show was no meteor shower.