Falcon 9 Program FCC Investigates SpaceX Launch Failure

July 13 (UPI) — SpaceX’s resourceful Falcon 9 rocket landed in California after a rare malfunction caused the satellite spacecraft to fail.

The reusable Falcon 9 booster, which powered several Starlink missions and crewed flights for NASA and the International Space Station, experienced a problem As 20 Starlink satellites were launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday night, according to a thread on X.

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During the flight, the Falcon 9’s secondary booster did not complete its second burn as intended, sending the batch of satellites into the desired orbit, SpaceX said.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday that operations, including in Florida, have been suspended as the agency and SpaceX investigate.

SpaceX found that the upper stage of the booster was damaged „Liquid oxygen leak.” Liquid oxygen is used as an oxidizer for the rocket’s fuel.

Starlink satellites are unable to reach the target orbit and are at the mercy of Earth’s gravity.

SpaceX said Friday it had contacted 10 of the 20 satellites and was trying to use their ion thrusters to bring them into target orbit.

The founder and CEO of the company is Elon Musk Published in XIt’s his own, „We’re updating the satellite software to run the ion thrusters at their Warp 9 equivalent. Unlike a Star Trek episode, it won’t work, but it’s worth a shot.”

The rest of the satellites will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. SpaceX satellites are designed to disintegrate during re-entry, so they don’t pose a risk to people or property on the ground.

Thursday’s incident is a setback for Falcon 9, which has otherwise had a stellar record.

Since its debut in June 2010, the Falcon 9 has been launched More than 350 missionsIncluding 13 crew flights.

The Falcon 9 suffered a catastrophic failure during its lifetime. An explosion in June 2015 caused SpaceX to launch a robotic Dragon cargo capsule aboard the ISS. The rocket was grounded for six months pending an investigation

In September 2016, the rocket exploded again shortly before the satellite mission was launched, keeping it grounded for nearly five months.

Jupiter’s failure, while not catastrophic, puts SpaceX against the clock as the Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch two more crewed missions within the next two months.

The rocket is scheduled to fly tech billionaire Jared Isaacman and three crew members into orbit from Kennedy Space Center on a private mission called Polaris Dawn on July 31.

SpaceX won’t hit that target date, but Isaacman said he doesn’t expect to wait long.

„SpaceX has an incredible track record with the Falcon 9. I can tell you from personal experience that when problems arise, they are very obvious.” He said in X. „I have no doubt that they will soon reach a cause and ensure that the most cost-effective and reliable launch vehicle delivers the payload to orbit. As for Polaris Dawn, we will fly whenever SpaceX is ready and with full confidence in the rocket, spacecraft. And operations.”

In Florida, Falcon 9 is set to launch a major resupply mission to the ISS next month to support the Starliner crew and other astronauts aboard.

„Crew safety and mission assurance are NASA’s top priorities,” the agency said in a statement. „SpaceX is forthcoming with information and is engaging NASA in the company’s ongoing anomaly investigation to understand the issue and the path forward.”

A Starlink 10-4 mission was set to lift off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early Sunday and another early morning one was scheduled for Wednesday.