SpaceX Starship Rocket Grounded by FAA After Launch Mishap

The US Federal Aviation Administration has halted launches of SpaceX’s next-generation Starship rocket pending an investigation into its recent launch.

The mishap probe, a common procedural step the FAA conducts when a launch goes awry, will explore why SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster suffered a failure after sending Starship to space, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

SpaceX’s upgraded Starship successfully deployed mock satellites and returned to Earth largely unscathed on Friday, though its Super Heavy booster failed to do a planned burn of its engines after separating from Starship. It ultimately lost control as it came back ...