In a significant development, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket following a failed landing attempt during a routine Starlink mission. The Falcon 9 launched 21 of SpaceX's Starlink satellites today (Aug. 28), lifting off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 3:48 a.m. EDT (0748 GMT). It was the 23rd mission for this rocket's first stage, setting a new record for the company.
B1062 blasting off with starlink satellites Image Credit: SpaceX
As per report, the booster had successfully launched a batch of Starlink internet satellites into orbit before attempting to return to Earth which is now like a routine operation. However, the landing attempt by the booster bnamed B-1062 ended in failure. Due to hard handing, one of the landing legs gave away making the booster to topple over and explode on impact.
The FAA has confirmed that no public injuries or property damage were reported as a result of the incident. However, the agency has required SpaceX to open an investigation into the cause of the failure, which will be overseen by the FAA.
The company had aced 267 consecutive Falcon 9 landings before today’s fateful incident. Sixteen of the B1062 booster's 23 flights to date have been Starlink missions. But it also had two important crewed flights under its belt — Inspiration4, the first crewed orbital mission with private astronauts on board, and Ax-1, the first all-private astronaut flight to the International Space Station.
This is the second time this year that the Falcon 9 has been grounded. In July, the rocket was grounded following a second-stage failure that prevented a batch of Starlink satellites from reaching the correct altitude.
The grounding of the Falcon 9 could have significant implications for SpaceX's upcoming missions, including the high-profile Polaris Dawn mission. The mission, which aims to conduct the first spacewalks by an all-civilian crew, has already been postponed twice this week due to technical issues and weather conditions.
The Falcon 9 rocket is a critical component of SpaceX's business model, and is trusted by the US government and private industry to propel satellites and astronauts into orbit. The FAA will need to determine that any issues related to the anomaly do not affect public safety before allowing the rocket to return to flight.
In a statement, the FAA said: "A return to flight of the Falcon 9 booster rocket is based on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the anomaly does not affect public safety."
SpaceX has not commented on the incident, but is expected to provide further information in the coming days.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and the FAA has not provided a timeline for when the Falcon 9 may be cleared to return to flight.
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