FAA demands investigation into SpaceX rocket in-flight failure | SpaceX

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is demanding an investigation into the in-flight failure of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket while it was launching a batch of Starlink internet satellites.

The second-stage engine failure occurred Thursday night during a routine satellite launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California.

About an hour after the rocket took off, the rocket’s second stage, which was carrying 20 Starlink internet satellites, failed to re-ignite and instead deployed the satellites into a dangerously low orbit where they risk burning up in Earth’s atmosphere, Reuters reported.

In a statement released on X, SpaceX said: “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 to a lower orbit than planned.”

“SpaceX has made contact with five of the satellites so far and is attempting to launch them into orbit using their ion thrusters,” the company added. SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who also owns X, formerly Twitter, followed up with a very technical explanation of ion thrusters, a form of electric propulsion used in spacecraft.

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

In another message on X, Musk said, “Upper stage restart to raise perigee resulted in an engine RUD for reasons currently unknown,” referring to a rapid, unplanned disassembly — a euphemistic industry acronym for an explosion — adding, “Team is reviewing data tonight to understand root cause.”

Thursday’s failure occurred on the rocket’s 354th mission and marks the Falcon 9’s first failure since 2015, when the rocket exploded at a launch site in Florida.

The FAA issued a statement saying: “The FAA is aware that an anomaly occurred during the SpaceX Starlink Group 9-3 mission launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on July 11… The incident involved the failure of the rocket’s upper stage while in space. There were no reports of injuries or damage to public property. The FAA is requesting an investigation.”

“The FAA will be involved at every stage of the investigation process and will be required to approve SpaceX’s final report, including any corrective actions.”