SpaceX Falcon Rocket Ready to Return to Flight After Review of Failed Launch
- by Noozhawk
- Jul 26, 2024
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Falcon 9 rockets could resume launching this weekend after SpaceX says it determined the flaw that caused a failure following liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base two weeks ago, and came up with a fix to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
The return to flight for Falcon will follow the Federal Aviation Administration granting approval Thursday, two weeks after the July 11 launch failed by leaving the Starlink satellites in an unusable orbit.
“After a comprehensive review, the FAA determined no public safety issues were involved in the anomaly that occurred during the SpaceX Starlink Group 9-3 launch on July 11,” the agency said in a written statement.
“This public safety determination means the Falcon 9 vehicle may return to flight operations while the overall investigation remains open, provided all other license requirements are met.”
Falcon rockets have been grounded since the July 11 liftoff from Space Launch Complex-4 at Vandenberg.
While the rocket’s first-stage booster functioned properly, the Falcon’s second stage experienced trouble, leading to ice visible during the flight, and leaving the 21 Starlink satellites short of their target orbit.
After releasing additional details about the mishap review, SpaceX said another set of Starlink satellites will travel to space from Florida on Friday night or Saturday morning.
Two additional launches carrying Starlink satellites, one from Florida and another from Vandenberg, also could occur this weekend, according to notices warning pilots and boaters.
The Vandenberg liftoff could occur between 12:24 and 4:55 a.m. Sunday. SpaceX is expected to release the planned launch time beforehand.
The FAA said the approval to resume launches came after SpaceX asked the agency on July 15 for a public safety determination.
In those instances, the FAA evaluates aspects including safety-critical systems, the nature and consequences of the anomaly, the adequacy of existing flight safety analysis, and more.
Post-flight data reviews confirmed the first-stage booster performed as planned and safely landed on the droneship before a problem popped up on the second-stage engine..
During the first burn of Falcon 9’s second-stage engine, a liquid oxygen leak developed within the insulation, SpaceX said.
The leak’s cause has been pinpointed to a crack in a sense line for a pressure sensor attached to the vehicle’s oxygen system, according to SpaceX.
“This line cracked due to fatigue caused by high loading from engine vibration and looseness in the clamp that normally constrains the line,” SpaceX said.
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“Despite the leak, the second stage engine continued to operate through the duration of its first burn, and completed its engine shutdown, where it entered the coast phase of the mission in the intended elliptical parking orbit.”
A second burn of the upper-stage engine should have circularized the orbit ahead of satellite deployment.
“However, the liquid oxygen leak on the upper stage led to the excessive cooling of engine components, most importantly those associated with delivery of ignition fluid to the engine. As a result, the engine experienced a hard start rather than a controlled burn, which damaged the engine hardware and caused the upper stage to subsequently lose attitude control.”
Despite the glitch, the second stage continued to operate , deploying the Starlink satellites and successfully completing other steps at the end of the mission.
For near term Falcon launches, SpaceX said, the faulty part will be removed.
“The sensor is not used by the flight safety system and can be covered by alternate sensors already present on the engine,” SpaceX said.
The design change has been tested at SpaceX’s rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas, according to the SpaceX update.
“An additional qualification review, inspection, and scrub of all sense lines and clamps on the active booster fleet led to a proactive replacement in select locations.”
The firm’s busy launch schedule provided “unprecedented levels of flight data” for the analysis allowing the Falcon rocket’s relatively fast return to flight.
Failures of other rockets with fewer flights have led to delays spanning months, not weeks.
After the Starlink satellites deployment on July 11, the team contacted 10 of the spacecraft to send early commands in an attempt to raise their altitude, but they could not be rescued.
“As a result, all 20 Starlink satellites from this launch re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere. By design, Starlink satellites fully demise upon reentry, posing no threat to public safety. To-date, no debris has been reported after the successful deorbit of Starlink satellites.”
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