SpaceX is aiming to resume Falcon 9 launches soon after its flagship rocket suffered a rare malfunction during a satellite launch last week.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) SpaceX The launch will continue on Monday (July 15). Falcon 9 Flight under mandatory accident investigation The ill-fated Starlink 9-3 mission The rocket’s upper stage leaked liquid oxygen. SpaceX has requested a public safety determination from the FAA, and if the government determines the anomaly “does not affect safety-critical systems or pose a threat to public safety,” the company will be able to resume launches. SpaceflightNow reports: The FAA also provided a statement to Space.com upon request.
“The FAA has a responsibility and obligation to protect the public during commercial space transportation launch and reentry operations,” the agency said in an emailed statement. “The FAA is reviewing the request. [by SpaceX] Every step of the process is driven by data and safety.”
If approved, SpaceX could stay on schedule for two crewed spaceflight launches in the coming weeks. The Falcon 9 will use a different type of rocket for both crewed and uncrewed launches. The first astronaut launch, scheduled for July 31, will be privately funded. Polaris Dawn The mission (funded by American billionaire Jared Isaacman) includes the first commercial Spacewalk The second launch will be into Earth orbit by Crew 9, scheduled for mid-August. International Space Station On behalf of NASA.
NASA is closely monitoring the investigation into the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch failure and its potential impact on the agency’s future astronaut missions, the space agency said in a July 12 statement.
“Crew safety and mission assurance are NASA’s top priorities,” NASA officials said in a statement. “SpaceX has been proactive in providing information and has engaged NASA in the company’s ongoing investigation of the anomaly to understand the issue and next steps. NASA will provide updates on the mission, including any impacts to the schedule, as more information becomes available.”
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket had flown 364 space missions in 14 years and had only two malfunctions, but during launch on July 11, it experienced a liquid oxygen propellant leak in its second stage.
“Following a planned re-ignition of the upper stage engines to raise the perigee, or lowest point of the orbit, [single] Merlin Vacuum Engine [on the second stage] An anomaly occurred and the second burn was not able to be completed,” SpaceX said in a statement. Updated July 12th.
“The stage survived and was still developing, satellite“Although it was not possible to circularize the orbit, the satellite deactivated itself, as is typically done at the end of each mission,” SpaceX added. “This left the satellite in an eccentric orbit with a very low perigee of 135 km. [84 miles]This is less than half the predicted perigee altitude.”
In a July 16 statement, the FAA said public safety determination requests are evaluated based on issues such as “the safety-critical systems, the nature and consequences of the anomaly, the adequacy of existing flight safety analyses, safety organization performance, and environmental factors.”
“If the FAA finds there are no public safety issues, operators may resume flying while the investigation continues, provided all other licensing requirements are met,” the statement added.
The FAA has not given a timeline for evaluating the request, which is common practice in aerospace safety investigations due to the complex nature of space flight. Missions with humans on board, such as Polaris Dawn or NASA’s Crew 9, are likely to face even greater scrutiny.
Most of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket Starlink satellitesSpaceX also built the rocket to power its broadband satellite internet business, but it is also used to launch important national security missions and high-profile government satellites used for Earth observation, for example.
The Falcon 9 is the most frequently launched rocket today, with 69 launches (including one failure) through 2024. China, the world’s second largest launch organization after SpaceX, 30 successful launches This year so far.
