SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Grounded Indefinitely After Missing Its Landing Spot
- by Gizmodo
- Sep 30, 2024
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Falcon 9 has not been living up to its typical high standards this year. The trusty medium-sized launch vehicle suffered another anomaly in late August. After delivering 21 Starlink satellites to orbit, the rocket’s booster returned to Earth to perform a landing on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean. Although the booster’s descent went smoothly, it toppled over once it reached the droneship and broke apart, igniting a large fire.
The incident prompted the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to ground the rocket but Falcon 9 was back in the swing of things in no time, launching another batch of Starlink satellites three days later. August’s landing mishap ended a streak of 267 successful touchdowns and booster recoveries since February 2021.
Typically a crowd favorite, Falcon 9 disappointed its fans three different times this year alone. In July, the rocket was unable to deliver its payload of satellites to orbit due to an upper stage malfunction. The incident grounded the rocket until an investigation into the failed flight concluded around two weeks later, pinpointing an oxygen leak as the reason behind the engine malfunction.
The 135-foot-high (41 meters) rocket is capable of lifting up to 50,300 pounds (22,800 kilograms) of payload into low-Earth orbit. Since its debut in 2010, Falcon 9 has performed more than 350 missions. This recent string of mishaps is unusual for SpaceX’s workhorse, and the company has a packed schedule for the rocket, leaving little room for a breather.
Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch the European Space Agency’s Hera mission on October 7. Hopefully the rocket will have recovered by then.
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