SpaceX Faces FAA Probe After Starship Booster Mishap

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation into a recent SpaceX Starship V3 launch, grounding the spacecraft. The incident occurred last Friday when the Starship V3’s boosters returned to Earth, splashing down into the Gulf of Mexico.

FAA officials noted the boosters fell into a "hazard area," causing delays to airport departures and airborne traffic. SpaceX is required to conduct a mishap investigation, with the FAA overseeing the process and needing to approve the final report and corrective actions before another launch can occur.

This investigation comes at a critical time for SpaceX, which recently filed for a potentially record-breaking initial public offering. The IPO could value the company at $1.75 trillion, a figure that could make CEO Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire. The company also houses notable entities such as Starlink, xAI, and X (formerly Twitter).

SpaceX's Starship program has a history of FAA investigations, with seven involving Starship and Super Heavy boosters to date, four of which necessitated corrective actions. The Falcon 9 rocket also faced a grounding in February 2026 pending an FAA inquiry. Despite these recurring issues, the Starship V3 is slated for crucial missions, including transporting humans to the moon for the Artemis IV mission and deploying Starlink V3 satellites.

The FAA investigation is unlikely to significantly impact SpaceX's ambitious plans or its IPO, given the outcomes of past inquiries.