SpaceX has been postponed its SN9 Starship launch multiple times in the past few weeks, most recently due to an FAA release Thursday stating that the launch had been postponed to Friday.
Later Thursday, SpaceX head Elon Musk responded to the news on Twitter, saying that “the FAA Space division has a fundamentally broken regulatory structure.”
The reason for the FAA’s scrubbing of Thursday’s flight is not clear, but some are criticizing the move since a similar launch with the SN8 Starship had already been performed at higher elevations than the SN9 is expected to reach.
Unlike its aircraft division, which is fine, the FAA space division has a fundamentally broken regulatory structure.
Their rules are meant for a handful of expendable launches per year from a few government facilities. Under those rules, humanity will never get to Mars.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2021
Following Musk’s sharp criticism of the FAA, it was announced that today’s SN9 Starship launch would also be postponed, according to @op_boca, noting Boca Chica residents’ evacuation orders had been redacted. There was no follow-up date included in the FAA’s report.
Boca Chica residents have been informed that the evacuation order is no longer in effect, confirming that there will be no launch of Starship SN9 today.
— SpaceX Updates – Boca Chica (@op_boca) January 29, 2021
SpaceX is now planning its next Starship SN9 test launch for Monday, February 1.
In any case, Musk may not be wrong to say that, “under [these] rules, humanity will never make it to Mars.” Still, hopefully the criticism can help drive the FAA’s space division to re-evaluate its regulatory practices to help accelerate our entry into the final frontier.
Whether or not they do, we’re pretty sure Musk is going to find a way to get there – even if it means riding Bitcoin’s gains the whole way.
