SpaceX says Starship self-destructed after propellant leaks caused fires and comms blackout

SpaceX said Monday that last month's Starship explosion was brought on by a cascading series of events caused by propellant leaks — a problem the company says has been addressed ahead of an eighth test flight that could happen as early as Friday. The spaceflight company is still waiting for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to either officially close the "mishap investigation" into the explosion, or specially authorize SpaceX to perform the flight while the investigation continues. This is, notably, the first time SpaceX has been subjected to a mishap investigation while CEO Elon Musk is operating inside the United States government, with workers from his so-called Department of Government Efficiency actively making changes at the FAA.