SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has been grounded once again following a failed landing attempt during a routine Starlink mission early Wednesday.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the grounding after the rocket’s first-stage booster, which had successfully launched 21 Starlink satellites into orbit, toppled over and exploded upon landing on a sea-based platform off the coast of Florida, marking the second grounding of a Falcon 9 in just two months.
No injuries or public damage were reported, but the incident has sparked an investigation.
The booster that failed was on its 23rd flight, setting a record for SpaceX’s recycling program, which aims to reuse these boosters as often as possible to cut costs. The FAA must now review the incident and approve SpaceX’s findings before the rocket can return to flight.
This grounding comes at a particularly busy time for SpaceX. The company was gearing up to launch the Polaris Dawn mission, a private spaceflight that includes the first-ever private spacewalk, but that launch is now in limbo.
Additionally, SpaceX is scheduled to launch two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) next month on a mission that will also bring home astronauts who have been stranded on the ISS since June due to issues with Boeing’s Starliner capsule.
The latest incident is somewhat reminiscent of a July grounding, when Falcon 9 was sidelined after a second-stage failure during another Starlink mission. In that case, an oxygen leak led to a rapid unscheduled disassembly, or explosion, shortly after launch. SpaceX was able to address the issue and return to flight within two weeks, but the FAA’s investigation is still ongoing.
Despite the setback, SpaceX remains committed to understanding what went wrong.
“Losing a booster is always sad. Each one of them has a unique history and character,” said Jon Edwards, a SpaceX vice president.
He added that the company is working “ASAP” to figure out the cause of the failure.
The grounding also led SpaceX to postpone another Starlink launch from its California site. The company said it needed more time to review data from the failed booster landing. While no issues were reported with the rocket’s second stage during the latest mission, SpaceX decided to delay the follow-up launch as a precaution.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets have become a workhorse for satellite launches and human spaceflight missions, making any delay or grounding a significant event. The upcoming launches, especially the Polaris Dawn mission and NASA’s Crew-9, are highly anticipated, and the grounding could complicate their schedules.
The FAA’s investigation will focus on ensuring that any issues related to the failed landing do not pose a risk to public safety. The agency has not yet indicated how long the investigation might take or when Falcon 9 might return to flight. For now, SpaceX and the FAA are working closely to resolve the issue and get the rocket back in the air as soon as possible.
This incident highlights the challenges of spaceflight, even for a company as experienced as SpaceX. While the grounding is a setback, the company has proven resilient in the past, and industry watchers are hopeful that Falcon 9 will be back in action soon.
