

SpaceX
SpaceX’s futuristic Crew Dragon astronaut walkway is ready for US human spaceflight revival
SpaceX has publicly revealed the sleek, minimalist design of the access arm that NASA astronauts will soon use to board Crew Dragon spacecraft, bringing to an end more than half a decade of U.S. dependency upon non-native rockets and space agencies to transport crew to the International Space Station.
After several months of concerted effort in a tent located on Pad 39A property, SpaceX engineers, welders, and technicians have nearly completed the most critical portion of the launch facility modifications and upgrades necessary to return the pad’s human spaceflight capabilities. Known as a Crew Access Arm (CAA), SpaceX will likely complete installation of the Arm by the end of August, wrapping up what is by far the most visible step yet towards returning astronauts to the ISS on American rockets and spacecraft.
- SpaceX has rolled its completed Crew Dragon Access Arm into position and is just days away from installing the sleek arm. 08/16/18 (Tom Cross)
- The interior of SpaceX’s Crew Access Arm. (NASA)
- SpaceX has rolled its completed Crew Dragon Access Arm into position and is just days away from installing the sleek arm. 08/16/18 (Tom Cross)
- Pad 39A’s Space Shuttle access arm seen before removal. (Tom Cross)
SpaceX’s first flightworthy Crew Dragon spacecraft are currently in various late stages of production, assembly, and integration in pursuit of an uncrewed orbital debut no earlier than (NET) November 2018 and its first crewed demonstration flight as early as April 2019. The first Demonstration Mission (DM-1) Crew Dragon capsule is already at SpaceX’s Florida processing facility, while its trunk/service module and Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket could ship to Florida as early as late August or early September.
Boeing has already installed their own Starliner spacecraft Crew Access Arm at United Launch Alliance’s own LC-41 launch facility, although the design is definitely far more traditional than SpaceX’s comparatively wild departure from previous CAAs.
Prior to SpaceX’s lease of Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), the pad operated for the full length of NASA’s Space Shuttle program, supporting dozens of launches of the fundamentally flawed – albeit iconic and awe-inspiring – vehicle. Still, Pad 39A is most famous for the critical role it played in NASA’s Apollo Program, where it supported nearly all Saturn V launches and thus all but one (Apollo 10) of the nine crewed mission to the Moon, Apollo 8, and Apollo 11 through 17.
SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk are cognizant of this incredibly rich history, and it’s probable that humans will once again return to the Moon (at least its gravitational sphere of influence) from Pad 39A, but this time atop a SpaceX rocket and spaceship. A sister facility known as LC-39B, built to ensure two operational pads for the Space Shuttle, is also slowly tracking towards the debut of a different rocket targeting human exploration around the Moon, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS).
- SpaceX’s first Block 5 Falcon 9 prepares for its debut launch from Pad 39A, May 2018. (Tom Cross)
- SpaceX’s Crew Dragon simulator, a near-exact replica of the spacecraft’s actual cabin. (Pauline Acalin)
- In this illustration, a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is shown in low-Earth orbit. (SpaceX)
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell recently reaffirmed that a 2017 contract (money in hand) to send two private individuals around the Moon is still alive and well, although Musk has also noted that that lunar tourism mission will likely be flown with BFR and BFS, pushing it into the early 2020s at the earliest. While several years out and taking a definite back seat to Crew Dragon’s safe and reliable debut and operation in low Earth orbit, it’s clear that a separate human spaceflight race is simmering in the background, pitting public efforts against private efforts in a bid to once again send humans to the Moon.
For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!
News
SpaceX hit with mishap investigation by FAA for Starship Flight 9
Starship’s ninth test flight has the FAA requiring a mishap investigation from SpaceX.

SpaceX has been hit with yet another mishap investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) related to the company’s ninth test flight of Starship earlier this week.
The FAA said the mishap investigation is “focused only on the loss of the Starship vehicle, which did not complete its launch or reentry as planned.” The agency said the loss of the Super Heavy booster is covered by one of the FAA’s approved test induced damage exceptions requested by SpaceX.
All of Starship and Super Heavy booster debris landed within the designated hazard areas, the FAA confirmed.
It said it activated a Debris Response Area out of an abundance of caution as the booster “experienced its anomaly over the Gulf of America during its flyback toward Texas. The FAA subsequently determined the debris did not fall outside of the hazard area. During the event there were zero departure delays, one flight was diverted, and one airborne flight was held for 24 minutes. ”
SpaceX has become accustomed to mishap investigations by the FAA, as they have been impacted by them on several occasions in the past, including on Flight 8. However, they are a precautionary measure and usually are resolved within a few weeks.
Flight 9 was one of SpaceX’s most eventful, as there were several discoveries during the launch. First, it was SpaceX’s first time reusing a Super Heavy booster, as the one utilized for Flight 9 was also used on Flight 7 in January.
Contact with the booster and Starship were both lost during Flight 9. SpaceX said the booster was lost “shortly after the start of landing burn when it experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly approximately 6 minutes after launch.”
Meanwhile, Starship was set to make a splashdown in the Indian Ocean, but the vehicle was lost about 46 minutes into the flight, SpaceX said in a mission recap.
It was an improvement from the previous two flights, as both 7 and 8 resulted in the loss of Starship after just a few minutes. Flight 9 lasted considerably longer. These flights are also not intended to make it to Mars, despite what other reports might try to tell you.
These are ways to gain information for when SpaceX eventually tries to get Starship to Mars.
SpaceX
SpaceX Starship Flight 9 recap: objectives & outcomes
Each test fuels progress. Starship Flight 9 provided critical data for future missions. One step closer to the Red Planet!

SpaceX’s Starship Flight 9 launched at 7:37 p.m. EDT from Starbase Texas on May 27, 2025.
The Starship Flight 9 launch included the B14-2 Super Heavy Booster previously used in Flight 7. Ship 35 (S35) made up the upper stage in Flight 9. Overall, 33 Raptor engines were on the booster. Six Raptor engines were on the upper stage of Starship.
Starship Flight 9 Objectives
- Demonstrate booster reuse by recovering B14-2 after separation.
- Deploy eight Starlink satellite simulators from Ship 35’s payload bay.
- Perform an in-space Raptor engine relight to test orbital maneuvering capabilities.
- Test upgraded heat shield tiles, including metallic and actively cooled variants, for improved re-entry performance.
- Achieve a controlled re-entry and splashdown of Ship 35 in the Indian Ocean.
Starship Flight 9 Outcomes
Booster Performance: Post-separation, B14-2 executed a boost-back burn to return toward the Gulf of Mexico for a planned catch or splashdown. However, the booster was lost over the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX acknowledged that it did not achieve its planned recovery and has not specified the cause of the loss.
Upper Stage Performance: Ship 35 reached a suborbital trajectory with an apogee of 189 km. SpaceX attempted to deploy eight Starlink satellite simulators from S35. However, the ship’s payload bay door failed to open and prevented deployment.
SpaceX planned a Raptor engine relight in space for the upper stage but did not confirm a successful attempt. During Ship 35’s re-entry over the Indian Ocean, fuel leaked, causing a loss of attitude control.
SpaceX’s Conclusion
SpaceX concluded that Starship Flight 9 was a partial success. The company’s conclusion was based on the valuable data it gathered from reusing the booster, heat shield performance, and system behavior.
Starship Flight 9’s Significance
Flight 9 provided critical data to achieve SpaceX’s goal of making Starship fully reusable. Reusability will reduce the cost of missions to Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars. Ship 35’s failure to deploy Starlink satellites revealed an issue that SpaceX would need to fix. After all, Starlink deployment is essential for Starship’s commercial viability.
Elon Musk noted that Starship Flight tests are essential steps toward human missions to Mars and eventually making life multiplanetary.
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship gets FAA nod for ninth test flight
The FAA has given the green light for Starship’s ninth test flight.

SpaceX has received FAA approval for the ninth test flight of the Starship rocket. The approval was delayed due to the federal agency finishing its comprehensive safety review of the eighth flight earlier this year.
The FAA said in a statement that it has determined that SpaceX has “satisfactorily addressed the causes of the mishap, and therefore, the Starship vehicle can return to flight.”
The eighth test flight occurred back on March 6. SpaceX completed a successful liftoff of Starship and the Super Heavy Booster, before the two entered stage separation a few minutes after launch.
Starship Flight 8: SpaceX nails Super Heavy booster catch but loses upper stage
The booster returned and was caught by the chopsticks on the launch pad, completing the second successful booster catch in the program’s history. However, SpaceX lost contact with Starship in the upper atmosphere.
The ship broke up and reentered the atmosphere over Florida and the Bahamas.
The debris situation caused the FAA to initiate a mishap investigation:
Starship Flight 8’s Ship 34 provided some beautiful fireworks in the sky during its rapid unscheduled disassembly. Beautiful but unfortunate.
Hopefully, Flight 9 would no longer have any RUD incidents. pic.twitter.com/p4qAToDXOM
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 7, 2025
The FAA said it will verify that SpaceX implements all the corrective actions on Flight 9 that it discovered during the mishap investigation.
There is no current confirmed launch window, but the earliest it could take off from Starbase is Tuesday, May 27, at 6:30 p.m. local time.
To prevent any injuries and potentially limit any damage, the FAA has stayed in contact with various countries that could be impacted if another loss of vehicle occurs:
“The FAA is in close contact and collaboration with the United Kingdom, Turks & Caicos Islands, Bahamas, Mexico, and Cuba as the agency continues to monitor SpaceX’s compliance with all public safety and other regulatory requirements.”
The agency has also stated that the Aircraft Hazard Area (AHA) is approximately 1,600 nautical miles and extends eastward from the Starbase, Texas, launch site through the Straits of Florida, including the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos.
For flight 8, the AHA was just 885 nautical miles.
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