SpaceX rocket fails during routine mission

SpaceX’s sturdy Falcon 9 rocket, which launches satellites and travels to orbit with NASA astronauts, suffered a rare failure on Thursday night (11) when trying to transport a batch of internet satellites into orbit.

The rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at around 10:30 pm local time. The launch vehicle carried 20 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink network, which already operates more than 6,000 satellites that have been launched in dozens of launches.

Most of these flights went without obvious problems — but Thursday was different. The first stage of the mission appeared to be going well, with the Falcon 9 using its first stage booster — the lower part of the rocket with nine engines that provides the initial burst of energy at liftoff — to propel itself toward space.

That booster then undocked and landed safely on a sea platform so SpaceX could refurbish it and use it again.

But the second stage of the rocket, which is designed to kick in after the first stage crashes and propel satellites to their final destination in orbit, abruptly failed. The cause was not immediately clear.

“During Starlink’s Falcon 9 launch this evening, the second stage engine did not complete its second burn. As a result, Starlink satellites were deployed in a lower orbit than intended,” according to a statement from SpaceX.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, added in a post on refers to an explosion.

“Reasons unknown,” says Musk’s post. The businessman added that Starlink satellites have been deployed into orbit, but may be too close to Earth to remain there for long.

Upper stage restart to raise perigee resulted in an engine RUD for reasons currently unknown. Team is reviewing data tonight to understand root cause.

Starlink satellites were deployed, but the perigee may be too low for them to raise orbit. Will know more in a few hours.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2024

In a later update, published after 1:30 a.m. ET, SpaceX said it had made contact with five of the 20 satellites and was attempting to raise their orbit.

“We are updating the satellites’ software to run the ion thrusters at their warp 9 equivalent,” Musk said. “Unlike a Star Trek episode, this probably won’t work, but it’s worth a try.”

During tonight’s Falcon 9 launch of Starlink, the second stage engine did not complete its second burn. As a result, the Starlink satellites were deployed into a lower than intended orbit.

SpaceX has made contact with 5 of the satellites so far and is attempting to have them…

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 12, 2024

SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are designed to disintegrate upon re-entering the atmosphere, according to the company, so satellites that fall from orbit should not pose a risk to people on the ground.

However, recent incidents have shown that space debris can unexpectedly survive re-entry.

It’s unclear what this setback means for the future of SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Typically, rockets remain on the ground for months after a failure while engineers work to determine the root cause and verify the vehicle’s safety.

The Falcon 9, SpaceX’s most prolific launch vehicle, has some important astronaut missions on the horizon. That includes plans to fly with tech billionaire Jared Isaacman and three colleagues on a trip to orbit, which is expected to include the first spacewalk by private astronauts. In August, SpaceX is also expected to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station as part of a long-standing contract with the space agency.

Neither NASA nor the Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches, immediately provided comment. CNN. SpaceX also did not respond, but it generally does not respond to press inquiries.

SpaceX will build a vehicle to take the International Space Station out of orbit