FAA Grounds SpaceX Starship After Test Flight Failure

The rocket's upper stage broke apart mid-flight, prompting an investigation into debris reports and flight path anomalies.

SpaceX's Starship experienced a failure during its seventh test flight on January 16, with the upper stage breaking apart 8.5 minutes into the flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded Starship launches and is requiring SpaceX to conduct a mishap investigation to determine the cause of the failure.
Reports of debris landing in the Turks and Caicos Islands are being investigated, though no injuries and only minimal property damage have been reported so far.
The FAA confirmed that debris fell outside designated areas, temporarily disrupting air traffic and causing several aircraft to divert or delay flights.
SpaceX has stated that initial data points to a fire in the aft section of the ship, and the company is working on corrective measures to prevent similar issues in future tests.