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SpaceX’s stalwart Falcon 9 rocket, which powers satellite launches and trips to orbit for astronauts, suffered a rare and troubling failure Thursday night. The test prompted federal regulators to ground the rocket, which has become a cornerstone of the U.S. and global launch industries over the past decade.
The incident marks the first time in nearly a decade that the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, a key part of NASA’s human spaceflight program, has failed.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches, said Friday morning that “although no public injuries or public property damage were reported, the incident warrants an investigation.”
The FAA noted that it routinely initiates such investigations in the name of public safety when rockets or spacecraft fail, providing SpaceX with corrective actions and determining when the Falcon 9 can return to the launch pad.
If Falcon 9 is not operational for a long time, it could mean setbacks for NASA’s astronaut launch schedule, SpaceX’s orbital space tourism efforts, the company’s satellite Internet service and the global commercial satellite industry. Hawk 9.
The Falcon 9 in question took off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday evening around 10:30pm local time.
The launch vehicle carried 20 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink network, several of which are already operational. 6,000 satellites According to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, they have been used by dozens of launches.
Most of those flights have gone without apparent problems, but Thursday was different.
The first leg of the journey went smoothly, with the Falcon 9 using its first-stage booster — the nine engines at the bottom of the rocket that provide the initial blast at liftoff — to hurtle toward space.
That booster was then disassembled and safely landed back on an ocean cruise platform so that SpaceX could refurbish it and reuse it.
But the rocket’s second stage, fired after the first stage fell off and designed to send satellites into orbit to their final destination, suddenly failed. The cause was not immediately apparent.
“During Starlink’s Falcon 9 launch tonight, the secondary engine did not complete its second burn. As a result, the Starlink satellites were placed in a lower orbit than planned, Report From SpaceX.
Later on Friday, SpaceX added in a statement that the rocket’s upper stage had experienced a “liquid oxygen leak.” Liquid oxygen, or LOX, is used as an oxidizer for fuel aboard the Falcon 9.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, a Mail At X, formerly known as Twitter, the second phase didn’t fail — it experienced what his company called “RUD,” or “rapid unplanned divestment,” which usually refers to an explosion.
Although the rocket deployed all the satellites on board, they spiraled into blind orbits that dragged them much closer to Earth than intended. This leaves the devices at the mercy of the strong pull of Earth’s gravity.
Musk is added separately Mail At X SpaceX will “investigate the problem and look for any other possible faults.”
“We’re on track to do more Falcon flights this year than the shuttle has done in 30 years,” Musk said. (SpaceX has launched more than 60 Falcon 9 flights so far by 2024, while NASA’s space shuttle has conducted 135 missions in its three-decade history.)
Thursday’s crash raises questions about how long the Falcon 9 rocket will be out of service at a critical time for SpaceX and the U.S. space agency.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 plays a key role in NASA’s human spaceflight program — flying astronauts on routine missions to orbit.
Notably, SpaceX’s crash came after Boeing Starliner vehicleSpaceX, which is set to partner in delivering astronaut launches, has encountered several problems during its current launch crew.
Starliner has already extended its mission weeks longer than expected as engineers work to determine what caused helium leaks and propulsion problems during the first phase of the shuttle’s journey.
While NASA and Boeing officials say they hope the Starliner can bring its crew home, Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, noted Wednesday that SpaceX is a backup option.
“The beautiful thing about the commercial crew program is that we have two vehicles,” Stich said, referring to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which usually starts with the Falcon 9 and the Starliner.
“We still have some time to look at the data and decide if we want to do something else,” Stich said, noting the International Space Station schedule and the flexibility SpaceX can offer the Starliner test flight. .
Essentially, the launch of the Falcon 9 was planned Next cargo delivery task For the ISS, Starliner provides new resources for the test crew and other astronauts aboard the space station. The two Starliner astronauts went into space without two suitcases because NASA had to pressurize the bathroom pump on their plane. It’s not yet clear whether NASA will be forced to delay that resupply mission.
“Crew safety and mission assurance are NASA’s top priorities,” the agency said in a statement Friday. “SpaceX is forthcoming with information and is engaging NASA in the company’s ongoing anomaly investigation to understand the issue and the path forward. As more information becomes available, NASA will provide updates on the agency’s work, including potential schedule impacts.
Falcon 9, SpaceX’s flagship launch vehicle, and the company’s Crew Dragon capsule also have some notable astronaut missions on the horizon. These include plans for tech billionaire Jared Isaacman and three crewmates to fly into orbit under the name Polaris Dawn, which is expected to include the first spacewalk conducted by private astronauts.
“SpaceX has achieved an incredible feat with Falcon 9,” Isaacman said said Friday at X. “For Polaris Dawn, whenever SpaceX is ready, we will fly with full confidence in the rocket, spacecraft and operations.”
In August, NASA is also expected to fly astronauts to the International Space Station as part of a long-term contract with space agency SpaceX.
Musk said the Starlink satellites deployed on Thursday may be too close to Earth to remain in orbit for long.
13 of the 20 Starlink satellites launched on a Falcon 9 rocket Direct-cellular capabilitiesAccording to SpaceX.
In an update released Friday, SpaceX said It made contact with 10 satellites and attempted to raise their orbits – but they were unlikely to survive.
“We are updating the satellite software to operate the ion thrusters at their Warp 9 equivalent,” Musk said. “Unlike a Star Trek episode, it might not work, but it’s worth a shot.”
SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are designed to disintegrate upon re-entry into the atmosphere, so de-orbiting satellites should not pose a danger to people on the ground, SpaceX said. Mail X on Friday.
However, recent incidents have shown that space is a garbage can Survive when unexpectedly re-entered.
However, some Starlink satellites may have already re-entered the atmosphere, says McDowell, an expert in orbital dynamics. He pointed to a video circulating on social media purporting to show some of the Starlink devices Falling in the sky He noted that his models showed that because the satellites were positioned close to Chile and at low altitudes, they would all have to be pulled out of orbit within a week.
It’s unclear what the crash will mean for the future of SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Typically, rockets land months after a failure before engineers can identify the root cause and verify the vehicle’s safety.
NASA did not immediately comment to CNN on Friday morning. When asked for more information on Friday, SpaceX pointed to updates shared on its X account.
The last Falcon 9 rocket failed during flight June 2015, when the launch vehicle launches a cargo mission to the International Space Station. The rocket was grounded for about six months after the accident before resuming flight in December 2015.
Another problem occurred in September 2016, a Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launch pad while carrying a satellite. The rocket did not fly for another four and a half months after that incident.
More than SpaceX’s Falcon 9 was launched 350 assignments In total, according to the company’s website.
That’s a key reason SpaceX’s Falcon 9 can recover so quickly, landing in weeks rather than months, McDowell noted. Abundance of flight data can help the company quickly identify what went wrong. But the failure, he said, is a reminder of a broader problem.
“It shows the danger of a monopoly,” McDowell said, highlighting the validity of NASA’s decision to pursue two different providers of astronaut transportation. “And it’s a good thing for (SpaceX), too much confidence in a vehicle that’s so successful — so it reminds the team, as you say, that space is tight even for the Falcon 9.”
