Stanford and Columbia professor Steve Blank argues that SpaceX and fellow innovators must follow the rules of innovation—rules the FAA no longer comprehends. The agency should step back from overseeing these programs to focus on its core mission: ensuring the safety of commercial aircraft and airspace.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will lead the investigation into the recent SpaceX SN9 prototype crash to pinpoint the root cause and bolster safety in the Starship test program, which has now seen its second explosion.
This comes after an FAA report citing SpaceX for violating federal safety regulations during the SN8 flight clearance last December. SpaceX had sought a waiver to exceed maximum public risk limits, but proceeded despite denial.
While the FAA's goals appear sound on paper, not all agree. In a recent SpaceNews article, Stanford professor and Columbia innovation expert Steve Blank sharply critiqued the agency.
“While at first glance the FAA/SpaceX feud over rapid rocket development might seem like a wealthy entrepreneur flouting rules and a federal agency protecting the public, it's really a government body—the FAA—failing to distinguish innovation from execution,” Blank emphasizes.
Blank contends the FAA erects unnecessary barriers for a company that has transformed aerospace, slashing space access costs and broadening opportunities.
“In innovation, failure is part of the process. Test rockets explode. If you're not pushing boundaries and testing design limits, you're not innovating fast enough.” He stresses minimizing risks to life and property, but notes innovation rules must allow speed—as the U.S. government did for experimental rockets and aircraft in the 1950s and 1960s.
Blank references Boeing's 737 MAX disasters in October 2018 and March 2019, which grounded the fleet for months amid investigations revealing FAA oversight lapses and leadership failures. The agency fell short on its primary duty: delivering the world's safest, most efficient aerospace system.
Blank believes the FAA, still recovering from those setbacks, should prioritize commercial airline safety over public displays of concern during Starship tests.
“SpaceX and other innovators must operate by different rules—those of innovation. Rules we applied during 1950s and 1960s experimental programs, which the FAA no longer understands.”
He urges the White House to shift innovation oversight from the FAA, allowing it to fix core functions like commercial aircraft and airspace safety. "Perhaps a new administrator could hang photos of the 346 lives lost in the 737 MAX crashes in the hallway as a reminder of what happens when the FAA fails."
