What To Know
- A problem with the ignition of one stage of the rocket forced the company to release the Starlink satellites it was carrying much too close to Earth’s atmosphere.
- The investigation, specifies the FAA in a press releaseis designed to “ further improve public safety, determine the root cause of the event and identify corrective actions to prevent it from happening again “That said, the agency reserves the sole right to authorize SpaceX to launch its Falcon 9 again.
- It must approve the final report from Elon Musk’s company and ” the return of flights » will be based on the assurance that « any system, process or procedure related to the incident does not affect public safety ” In other words, SpaceX will have to work to reassure the American authorities while taking measures to prevent such an incident from happening again.
This is just one Falcon 9 launch out of 364 conducted by SpaceX since 2010, but it has not gone as well as the others. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is calling for an investigation. A rare occurrence in this space age where SpaceX dominates by its advances and the frequency of its successful launches: on July 11, 2024, a Falcon 9 rocket takes off didn’t go as planned. A problem with the ignition of one stage of the rocket forced the company to release the Starlink satellites it was carrying much too close to Earth’s atmosphere. According to SpaceX, a last-ditch attempt was made by ground teams, attempting to use the satellites’ propulsion to launch them extract from the gravity of our planet and get them into a stable orbit. But to no avail: the 10 satellites the company managed to reach did not have enough thrust to move away from Earth. Each passage through the perigee reduces the altitude of the highest point in the satellite’s orbit by more than 5 km. At this level of drag, our maximum available thrust is unlikely to be sufficient to successfully raise the satellites. “, SpaceX commented on X.
One of Starlink’s new Gen 2 satellites // Source: SpaceX
What’s next for Falcon 9 and SpaceX?
To regain its right to fly, SpaceX will have to respond to a request for clarification from the FAA, the American authority that governs the sky and space. The investigation, specifies the FAA in a press releaseis designed to “ further improve public safety, determine the root cause of the event and identify corrective actions to prevent it from happening again “That said, the agency reserves the sole right to authorize SpaceX to launch its Falcon 9 again. It must approve the final report from Elon Musk’s company and ” the return of flights » will be based on the assurance that « any system, process or procedure related to the incident does not affect public safety ” In other words, SpaceX will have to work to reassure the American authorities while taking measures to prevent such an incident from happening again. This shows how precautions are essential in the world of aerospace: since 2010, SpaceX has launched 364 Falcon 9s, with only 3 failures and one partial failure. On July 12, 2024, there were already 70 launches for the current year, out of the 144 planned. 5 are still planned for July, according to the company’s calendar.including a launch with astronauts in the Crew Dragon for the Polaris mission Dawn, already delayed, which must be a first on many pointsThis slight setback does not affect SpaceX’s confidence: ” We are able to quickly get back into battle order and resume our rhythm, as the world’s busiest rocket launch service provider ” That’s all we want.
