Falcon 9 To Return To Flight After Being Grounded For Mishap Investigation

Investigation Update

following the mishap, SpaceX and the FAA have been diligently examining data and conducting tests to identify the cause of the anomaly. While the investigation is ongoing, both parties are working collaboratively to ensure the safety and reliability of future launches. The FAA deemed a mishap investigation necessary and will need to approve SpaceX’s final report, including any corrective actions that may emerge. In a statement, the FAA noted that, on July 15, SpaceX had requested that the FAA make a public safety determination as part of the ongoing investigation. It added that “when a public safety determination request is received, the agency evaluates safety-critical systems, the nature, and consequences of the anomaly, the adequacy of existing flight safety analysis, safety organization performance, and environmental factors”.

This approach is what enabled the fourth flight of SpaceX’s Starship to proceed while the investigation from the third flight was ongoing. The FAA continued, saying, “If the FAA agrees no public safety issues were involved, the operator may return to flight while the investigation remains open, provided all other license requirements are met.” SpaceX requested several hazard notices for up to four Starlink missions, initially between July 19 and July 22, which have since been periodically revised.

Starlink Group 10-4 Mission

SpaceX is scheduled to launch the Starlink Group 10-4 mission on Wednesday, July 24 at 12:14 AM EDT (04:14 UTC) from SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, pending FAA approval. This launch will mark the first Falcon 9 mission since the Starlink Group 9-3 launch nearly two weeks ago, which experienced an in-flight anomaly. The Starlink Group 10-4 launch will take place while the investigation into the previous anomaly is still ongoing. Prior to the anomaly, the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas had been positioned for the Starlink Group 10-4 landing zone but returned to port after Falcon 9 flights were grounded. The drone ship has since departed Port Canaveral again on Sunday, indicating preparations for the upcoming launch, although the specific booster for this mission has not been officially confirmed.

Starlink Group 10-9 Mission

SpaceX is gearing up for another launch of its Starlink v2 Mini satellites. The mission, known as Starlink Group 10-9, is scheduled for Thursday, July 25. The launch window opens at 12:21 AM EDT (04:21 UTC) from pad LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Notably, this will be the first launch from LC-39A since it was reconfigured following the GOES-U satellite launch on a Falcon Heavy in June. While the booster for this mission has not been officially announced, it is expected to execute a landing on an yet to announced droneship approximately 600 km downrange.

Starlink Group 9-4 Mission

Starlink Group 9-4 is currently scheduled to launch from SLC-4E at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California — the site of the most recent Falcon 9 to fly from two weeks before on July 12. Liftoff is expected at 1:34 AM PDT (08:34 UTC) on Thursday, July 25, at the start of a four-hour launch window.

Falcon 9 is expected to carry an unconfirmed number of Starlink v2 Mini satellites to low-Earth orbit. The booster has not yet been announced and is expected to land on the autonomous droneship Of Course I Still Love You.

Looking Ahead

Due to the rare upper stage mishap, SpaceX's launch schedule has been reshuffled which affected a number of important missions. The Transporter 11 rideshare mission, once anticipated to launch on Thursday, July 18, was initially delayed to a later date this month. Additionally, the launch of the WorldView Legion 3 & 4 mission from the Cape had also been pushed out of last week’s schedule. These are two examples of commercial missions that will now be further delayed due to the grounding, which also delayed the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission that had been due to launch last week in their place.

In addition to these commercial missions, the crewed Polaris Dawn and Crew-9 missions, as well as the CRS NG-21 cargo resupply mission, to the ISS are also likely to be affected. It is expected that the initial flights following the grounding should be Starlink missions to further prove the vehicle’s reliability before Falcon 9 returns to launching customer payloads and crew. In the meantime, SpaceX has continued to refurbish boosters in preparation for Falcon 9’s return to normal operations.

By Azhar