Finally! FAA Ended Starship Flight 7 Investigation! Flight 9 Launching Next Week...

big news everyone the FAA has officially closed the mishap investigations on both spacex's Starship and blue origins new Glenn lifting the legal restrictions that have been holding them back for SpaceX the path to the next flight is clear meanwhile blue origin has announced the launch date for its second flight so who will accelerate more in the coming period let's dive into today's episode of great SpaceX to find out more than anything flight 9 is now the primary focus for SpaceX and the Aerospace industry SpaceX is pushing forward with preparations to launch this critical test flight as soon as possible a key step in this process was completing the mishap investigations required by the FAA following flight 8 SpaceX had to conduct two separate investigations simultaneously doubling the regulatory burden and delaying the next launch however recent developments suggest that this pressure is easing and a resolution is Within Reach specifically the FAA has officially closed its mishap investigation into flight 7 in its announcement the agency stated the FAA required investigation of the SpaceX Starship flight 7 mishap on January 16th is closed according to the announcement the investigation formally concluded on the 28th of March meaning it lasted approximately 70 days from the day of the flight while extensive this timeline aligns with previous Starship investigations indicating that regulatory processes are becoming more streamlined as SpaceX refines its vehicle a particularly encouraging aspect of the faa's report is its assessment of Public Safety the agency confirmed there were no public injuries and one confirmed report of Minor vehicle damage in the Turks and Kos Islands this is a significant confirmation after flight 7 images circulated online showing debris washing up on shores in areas like Turks and K Co raising concerns about potential damage to property the environment and Public Safety if these concerns had escalated environmental groups could have pushed to delay or restrict future Starship flights however with the FAA now confirming that Public Safety was not compromised and likely receiving approval from the Turks and Kos government this issue should not pose a major regulatory hurdle for SpaceX any longer with safety concerns addressed attention now shifts to the technical findings of the investigation what exactly went wrong during flight 7 following the flight multiple insights emerged musk initially revealed that a fuel leak had caused a pressure buildup in a cavity above the engine firewall later spacex's pre-flight 8 update provided more details indicating that excessive harmonic response led to a leak triggering a fire and damaging the engines now the faa's final report provides even more clarity the agency stated the vyl mishap report cites the probable root cause for the loss of the Starship vehicle was stronger than anticipated vibrations during flight which led to increased stress on and failure of the hardware in the propulsion system essentially the vibrations during flight were much stronger than expected placing excessive stress on the propulsion system and ultimately causing its failure analysts suggest that these vibrations may have stemmed from fuel depletion which affected the stability of the f line system allowing oscillations to amplify without sufficient liquid fuel to dampen the vibrations structural stress increased leading to the leak and subsequent failure Additionally the issue could be linked to design changes introduced with the Starship version 2 upgrades if these modifications unintentionally Amplified certain resonance effects it would explain why the problem appeared more prominently with this version another factor that may have contributed is the payload system which if improperly tuned could have introduced additional resonance exacerbating the vibrations experienced during flight with the flight 7 investigation now closed the focus will shift toward completing the flight 8 review and implementing corrective measures for flight 9 SpaceX will need to ensure that these vibration related failures are mitigated likely through structural reinforcements refined propellant management and improved damping mechanisms the closure of this investigation is a significant Milestone bringing SpaceX one step closer to resuming Starship launches now all eyes are on the faa's next move regarding flight 8 as resolving that investigation will be the final regulatory step before SpaceX can proceed with its next test flight meanwhile the FAA did not highlight the engine failure in super heavy as the boosters Journey was considered largely successful instead the primary focus was on addressing the propulsion system issues that led to the loss of Starship during flight 7 to mitigate these problems the FAA revealed SpaceX identified 11 corrective actions to prevent a reoccurrence of the event the FAA verified that SpaceX implemented corrective actions prior to flight 8 this confirmation means that the upgrades SpaceX outlined in its postflight 7 update were indeed corrective measures aimed at preventing a repeat of the failure these upgrades included improvements to super heavy sign system the addition of a fire suppression system enhancements to the filtration and ventilation systems extended pre-flight testing and other refinements although this announcement pertains specifically to flight 7 it has clear implications for flight 9 given that flight 8 ended in a similar manner to flight 7 the faa's review process for the more recent flight may also conclude relatively quickly if that happens SpaceX will be free to focus entirely on preparing for the next launch we regarding the schedule flight 9 could take place as soon as this month just as with flight 8 SpaceX does not need to wait for the conclusion of the previous flights investigation to proceed with the next mission instead the company must demonstrate that necessary corrective actions have been taken and that Public Safety remains a top priority statements from musk along with the updates from the FCC suggest that flight 9 could occur in early April possibly within the next week or two however given the remaining preparations a more realistic time frame would play the launch in the second half of April currently the flight 9 Hardware is undergoing extensive testing both ship 35 and B16 have successfully completed cryogenic testing and are likely receiving their engines at the production site the road closures scheduled for the 3rd of April and the 4th indicate that a static fire test for the booster is imminent however it remains unclear whether B16 or b14 will ultimately be selected for this Mission meanwhile ship 35 is expected to return to Mass test facility for its static fire campaign simultaneously SpaceX is accelerating work on the upgrades recommended following flight 7 ensuring that all systems are optimized for a successful launch once these final preparations are complete both stages of the vehicle will undergo additional installations at the production site before making their way to the launch site there they will be fully integrated subjected to final tests and prepared for flight with the faa's latest decision clearing a significant regulatory hurdle SpaceX is now entering the final stretch toward flight 9 the pace is rapidly accelerating and the path is clearer than ever now it's just a matter of time before the next Starship launch takes place other than SpaceX blue origin has overcome a significant legal hurdle as the FAA has officially closed the investigation into new Glenn's failed booster Landing interestingly both companies experienced mishaps on the same day January 16th and now their investigations have also concluded on the same day the 28th similar to its statement regarding SpaceX the FAA confirmed the FAA required investigation of the blue origin new Glenn one mishap that occurred on the 16th of January is closed there were no public injuries or public property damage with the regulatory process complete attention now turns to the root cause of nen's failed booster Landing which the FAA has officially outlined the agency stated the FAA oversaw and accepted the findings of the blue origin Leed investigation the final mishap report identified the approximate cause of the mishap as an inability of new Glenn's first stage to restart the engines preventing a re-entry burn from occurring and resulting in the loss of the stage this confirms that new Glen's booster suffered an engine system failure after stage separation the engines were unable to restart for the re-entry burn which meant the booster could not decelerate or properly navigate its descent as a result it fell freely into the ocean o likely experiencing a violent impact upon Landing possibly even an explosion fortunately since the booster landed within the designated Hazard warning area there were no injuries or damage to property as noted in the faa's statement to prevent similar failures in the future the FAA stated that blue origin has identified seven corrective actions which the agency will verify before approving the next new Glenn mission in a recent company update blue origin elaborated on these corrective actions stating they would focus on propellant management and engine bleed control improvements which we're already addressing these improvements will be critical but not easy to implement optimizing propellant management and engine bleed control will require modifications across multiple subsystems including fuel tanks piping engine control mechanisms protective measures and onboard problem detection systems any changes will need to be rigorously tested to ensure they do not introduce new complications despite these challenges blue Origins leadership remains optimistic CEO Dave limp expressed confidence in their progress stating on X we're confident that the propellant and bleed control work we're doing will increase our chances of Landing the booster on our next flight while the exact technical approach remains unclear blue origin has already set a target for its next launch the FAA has confirmed that the blue origin new Glenn vehicle is authorized to return to flight provided all other licensing requirements are met building on this blue origin and announced on X we expect to return to flight in late spring and will attempt to land the booster again this is an ambitious timeline late spring suggests a launch window around the end of May giving blue origin just two months to complete all necessary preparations if they intend to meet this deadline they will need to accelerate their efforts the Rockets core stages should be rolled out soon followed by integration and testing of critical systems engines and payloads must also be delivered to the launch facility in time for final preparations however compared to SpaceX blue Origins lack of transparency regarding new Glenn's development raises doubts about whether they can maintain this schedule unlike Starship which under goes regular public testing at Starbase updates on new Glenn's Hardware status remain scarce for now all eyes will be on Blue origin to see if they can stay on track and execute a successful second flight proving that new Glenn is ready to compete in the rapidly evolving space industry now is the perfect time to compare the progress of these two major space flight programs in terms of scheduling spacex's flight 9 is clearly set to launch earlier than New Glen 2 however the real comparison will likely be between flight 10 and new Glenn's second flight if flight 9 is a success flight 10 could realistically happen in May given new Glen 2's current timeline both launches may end up occurring close to each other much like their first flights that said based on spacex's rapid iteration process it is likely that flight 10 will take off before New Glen 2 what do you think will flight 10 happen first or will new Glen 2 surprise everyone drop your prediction F10 or ng2 in the comment section down below beyond the launch schedule the two missions also differ in objectives if flight 9 goes as planned flight 10's main focus will be achieving full reusability by successfully catching the Starship upper stage with the launch Tower's arms in addition to reaching orbit and deploying payloads and attempting a booster landing on a drone ship both missions are crucial steps for their respective companies and improving the viability of their vehicles so which company do you think will achieve their goals more effectively let's discuss in the comment section down below this has been Kevin with great SpaceX don't forget to like the video and subscribe if you haven't already to stay up to date with yours truly in the latest details of spacex's progress thank you so much for tuning in and remember curiosity imagination and inspiration will always follow you as long as you keep looking up