FAA grounds SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets after booster explodes off Florida Coast
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - What was supposed to be a historic week for SpaceX ended in setbacks after a Falcon 9 rocket booster burst into flames off the coast of Florida.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded all Falcon 9 launches after the anomaly overnight. The FAA said it won’t give SpaceX the green light to launch again until it is confident the issue with the Falcon 9 booster has been fixed.
SpaceX suffered a fiery fallout when a Falcon 9 booster burst into flames and fell over while landing on a barge around 4 a.m. on Wednesday off the coast of Cape Canaveral.
"It was destroyed," said space expert Ken Kremer, who founded the Space UpClose publication and tracks the industry.
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Destruction isn’t common for the space giant. SpaceX has successfully used this booster 23 times and has done nearly 260 booster recoveries since 2021.
"Maybe we can say it’s just an unfortunate incident, but yeah, when you have people working on so many missions at once, you can have a checklist and things that aren’t completed as they should be," said Don Platt, an associate professor of space systems at Florida Tech.
SpaceX is swamped with missions right now. Just overnight, they were trying to launch a historic crewed mission and two Starlink missions in a matter of hours.
The Polaris Dawn mission was delayed because of weather safety concerns, and the second Starlink launch never happened in California because of the explosion in Florida.
Does that feel like too much to do in one night," asked FOX 35’s Esther Bower to Kremer.
"To me, it’s too much to do, especially when you have a human launch," said the expert.
RELATED: SpaceX delays Polaris Dawn rocket launch again
So, when will SpaceX launch again? The FAA said, "A return to flight of the Falcon 9 booster rocket is based on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the anomaly does not affect public safety."
"Was there a particular component that was operating out of speck? Was the temperature too high or too low? Was a pressure that wasn’t where it was supposed to be?" asked Platt, explaining some of the questions engineers would ask as they investigated the explosion.
The 21 Starlink satellites that launched did make it to orbit and were not affected by this explosion here on Earth.
This is also not the first time SpaceX has been grounded recently. In July, SpaceX had another issue with their Falcon 9 rocket and couldn't launch for two weeks.
FAA investigation into SpaceX booster accident: what's next?
- Rocket’s journey: The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, successfully deploying 21 Starlink satellites into orbit.
- The incident: Moments after landing on an ocean platform, the first-stage booster fell over and erupted in flames, marking SpaceX's first such accident in years.
- Booster details: This booster was launched 23 times, a record for SpaceX’s recycling efforts.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Resilience capsule sits on Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the Polaris Dawn Mission in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 28, 2024.
Impact on upcoming SpaceX and NASA launches
- FAA investigation: The FAA has grounded Falcon 9 rockets and will oversee the investigation into the accident. SpaceX will need FAA approval of its findings and corrective actions before resuming launches.
- Upcoming launches affected: A private spaceflight from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, originally scheduled for this week, is now uncertain. NASA’s upcoming astronaut mission, slated for late next month, may also face delays. After the incident, a California launch with more Starlink satellites was immediately called off.
- A private spaceflight from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, originally scheduled for this week, is now uncertain.
- NASA’s upcoming astronaut mission, slated for late next month, may also face delays.
- After the incident, a California launch with more Starlink satellites was immediately called off.
SpaceX's response to the booster accident
- Company response: SpaceX’s Jon Edwards, a vice president, stated the company is working "ASAP" to understand what went wrong.
- Emotional impact: "Losing a booster is always sad. Each one of them has a unique history and character. Thankfully, this doesn’t happen often," Edwards shared on X (formerly Twitter).