The FAA on Wednesday authorized a return to flight and issued a fresh license modification for SpaceX’s Starship. The 400-foot-tall rocket is scheduled to lift off Monday evening, even as SpaceX continues to investigate the mishap that ended the rocket’s seventh test flight in January and involve itself in FAA activities.
After Starship broke apart, the FAA said it activated a debris response area—which it does only when debris falls outside a preapproved, designated hazard zone—to alert nearby aircraft. As a result, multiple passenger jets flying for American Airlines, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and others were diverted and placed in holding patterns. It is unclear whether any of those aircraft were forced to take evasive action to avoid debris. No injuries and only minor damage were reported.
