SpaceX wants to return to launching the Falcon 9 after one of the rockets experienced an upper-stage failure last week, forcing it to drop its satellites into a lower-than-planned orbit. It has requested a public safety determination from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to allow it to return to flight.
Musk finally reveals new launch date for Starship Flight 5 after SpaceX did the impossible…
An FAA spokesperson told The Register that SpaceX made the request on July 15, noting that "the FAA is reviewing the request and will be guided by data and safety at every step of the process."
The FAA said in a statement, “When a public safety request is received, the agency evaluates safety-critical systems, the nature and consequences of the anomaly, the adequacy of existing aviation safety analysis, the performance of the safety organization, and environmental factors.
"If the FAA accepts that no public safety issues were involved, the operator may return to flight while the investigation is open, provided all other license requirements are met."
