SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Experiences Engine Failure During Starlink Mission

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Experiences Engine Failure During Starlink Mission
Image credit: Wikipedia 

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket faced an engine failure after its late Thursday night launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission, Starlink Group 9-3, was intended to carry Starlink satellites but failed to reignite its upper stage due to a leak. Elon Musk confirmed the issue, stating, "Upper stage restart to raise perigee resulted in an engine RUD for reasons currently unknown."

The rocket's second stage performed its initial burn normally, but a liquid oxygen leak developed. When attempting to relight the upper stage engine to raise the perigee (the lowest orbital point), the Merlin Vacuum engine encountered an anomaly and failed to complete the burn. Consequently, the Starlink satellites were deployed into a lower than intended orbit.

This incident marks the first Falcon 9 failure since 2016. SpaceX reported that the Falcon 9 rocket has been grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pending an investigation, which will be conducted in coordination with the FAA. CNBC also confirmed the grounding.

The Falcon 9 has played a crucial role in orbital launches this year, accounting for 52% of all such launches in 2024, according to Gunter Krebs's Orbital Launches tracker. Thursday's launch was the 70th Falcon 9 mission of the year, with 96 launches completed in 2023.

On Friday afternoon, SpaceX announced it had established contact with 10 of the 20 satellites onboard. However, these satellites are in a "high-drag environment" with their perigee, making it unlikely they will successfully raise their orbits. The satellites are expected to reenter the atmosphere and "fully demise," posing no threat to other satellites or public safety.

SpaceX has committed to a full investigation to determine the cause of the failure and prevent future occurrences.