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- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
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- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
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- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
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- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
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- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
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SpaceX's Starship to remain grounded after explosion probe
SpaceX's Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, must remain grounded while Elon Musk's company completes dozens of corrective actions to prevent a repeat of the spectacular explosion that marred its first orbital test flight, regulators said Friday.
The 63 steps include "redesigns of vehicle hardware to prevent leaks and fires, redesign of the launch pad to increase its robustness," additional testing of safety systems and more, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement after completing a months-long review.
SpaceX blew up the uncrewed rocket four minutes after it blasted off from the company's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on April 20. Starship experienced multiple engine failures and its first-stage booster did not separate from the spacecraft above it.
The rocket disintegrated into a ball of fire that crashed into the Gulf of Mexico, while a cloud of dust floated over a small town several miles (kilometers) away.
Musk immediately congratulated his SpaceX team on an "exciting" test launch and declared it a success because the company would gain valuable insights into what went wrong.
The FAA however quickly launched an investigation, while conservation groups announced they would sue the regulator for not doing enough to protect the environment given the proximity of a vital habitat for protected species.
Though the probe has now been completed, "the closure of the mishap investigation does not signal an immediate resumption of Starship launches at Boca Chica," said the agency.
"SpaceX must implement all corrective actions that impact public safety and apply for and receive a license modification from the FAA that addresses all safety, environmental and other applicable regulatory requirements prior to the next Starship launch" it added.
A new Starship currently stands ready at the launchpad, according to publicity material posted by SpaceX on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In a statement, the company reiterated its position that the first test "was a critical step in advancing the capabilities of the most powerful launch system ever developed" and "provided numerous lessons learned that are directly contributing to several upgrades being made" to the vehicle and ground structures.
Starship, which stands 394 feet (120 meters) tall, produces 16.7 million pounds (74.3 Meganewtons) of thrust, more than double of the Saturn V rockets used to send Apollo astronauts to the Moon.
SpaceX foresees it as a next-generation, fully reusable spaceship that will eventually carry both crew and cargo to Mars. NASA has contracted a version of Starship to function as a lander craft for its Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon by the middle of this decade.
S.F.Lacroix--CPN