SPOKE TOO SOON

Elon Musk Shut Down by FAA After Bragging Mega-Rocket Is Ready to Launch

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the chief executive officer of SpaceX has a ways to go.

Elon Musk might think that his giant mega-rocket is ready to launch, but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has other ideas. On Tuesday, SpaceX began preparations for the second launch attempt of its Starship rocket, after a first launch in April which saw the rocket fail after about 90 seconds. The FAA said it would investigate concerns over the failure and the potential environmental damage caused by the launch. “Starship is ready to launch, awaiting FAA license approval,” Musk, the chief executive officer of SpaceX, tweeted on Tuesday shortly after the rocket was loaded onto a booster in South Texas. But the FAA on Wednesday said it was still investigating, shutting down the notion of a speedy approval. “The SpaceX Starship mishap investigation remains open,” the agency told Ars Technica. “The FAA will not authorize another Starship launch until SpaceX implements the corrective actions identified during the mishap investigation and demonstrates compliance with all the regulatory requirements of the license modification process.”