SpaceX’s stalwart Falcon 9 rocket, which powers not only satellite launches but also astronauts’ journeys into orbit, suffered a rare and troubling malfunction Thursday night while trying to pull a group of internet satellites into orbit. The ordeal prompted federal regulators to ground the rocket, which has become a cornerstone of the United States and global launch industries for the past decade.
This incident marks the first time in nearly a decade that the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which also plays a critical role in NASA’s human space flight program, has failed.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches, said Friday morning that an investigation into the incident had been launched but that “no injuries to the public or damage to public property were reported.”
The FAA, which routinely launches such investigations in the name of public safety after rockets or spacecraft malfunction, said it will play a role in determining when the Falcon 9 can return to the launch pad, as well as issuing corrective actions SpaceX should take.
If the Falcon 9 is out of service for an extended period, it could cause cascading disruptions for NASA’s astronaut launch schedule, SpaceX’s orbital space tourism efforts, the company’s satellite internet service and the global commercial satellite industry, which is heavily dependent on the Falcon 9.
Abnormality after take-off
The Falcon 9 in question took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California around 22:30 local time on Thursday evening.
The launch vehicle was carrying 20 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink network, which already operates via more than 6,000 satellites deployed via dozens of launches, according to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell.
Most flights operated without any problems, but Thursday was different.
The first leg of the mission went smoothly, with the Falcon 9 propelling itself into space using its first-stage booster, the bottommost section of the nine-engine rocket that provides the initial burst of power at liftoff.
The booster would then separate and land safely back on the sea platform, where SpaceX could repair and reuse it.
But the second stage of the rocket, designed to ignite after the first stage falls and carry the satellites to their final destinations in orbit, suddenly failed. The cause was not immediately clear.
“During tonight’s Starlink Falcon 9 launch, the second stage engine did not complete its second burn. As a result, Starlink satellites were placed in a lower than intended orbit,” according to a statement from SpaceX.
SpaceX said Friday that the upper stage of the rocket experienced a “liquid oxygen leak.” Liquid oxygen, or LOX, is used as the oxidizer for fuel on the Falcon 9.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to note that the second stage not only failed, but experienced what his company calls a “RUD” or “rapid unplanned disintegration,” which usually means an explosion.
And although the rocket deployed all the satellites on board, they entered a strange orbit that dragged them much closer to Earth than intended, leaving the devices at the mercy of the powerful pull of Earth’s gravity.
In a separate post on X, Musk added that SpaceX will “investigate the issue and look into any other possible accidents.”
“We aim to have more Falcon flights this year than the Shuttle has had in 30 years,” Musk said. (SpaceX has flown more than 60 Falcon 9 flights so far through 2024, while NASA’s space shuttle program has flown 135 missions in its three-decade history.)
A critical time for SpaceX
Thursday’s unfortunate incident raised questions about how long the Falcon 9 rocket will be out of service at a critical time for SpaceX and the U.S. space industry.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 plays a key role in NASA’s human spaceflight program, carrying astronauts on routine orbital missions.
This unfortunate incident experienced by SpaceX occurred after Boeing’s Starliner vehicle, which was preparing to provide astronaut launch services to SpaceX, experienced various problems during its first crewed mission.
Starliner’s mission has been extended by weeks more than expected as engineers try to figure out what caused helium leaks and thruster problems during the first leg of the spacecraft’s journey.
While NASA and Boeing officials said they were confident Starliner could bring crew members home, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich indicated on Wednesday that SpaceX was a backup option.
“The beauty of the Commercial Crew Program is that we have two vehicles,” Stich said, referring to SpaceX’s Falcon 9-equipped Crew Dragon and Starliner, which launch regularly.
“We have a little bit more time to look at the data and then decide if we need to do something different,” Stich said, referring to the flexibility SpaceX can provide with the International Space Station schedule and the Starliner test flight.
Significantly, the Falcon 9 was also scheduled to launch the next cargo resupply mission to the ISS, providing fresh supplies for the Starliner test crew and other astronauts on the space station. The two Starliner astronauts went into space without two suitcases filled with clothing and toiletries because NASA had to squeeze a toilet plunger into their flight. It is not yet clear whether NASA will have to postpone the resupply mission.
“Crew safety and mission assurance are top priorities for NASA,” the agency said in a statement Friday. “SpaceX has been forthcoming with information and is engaging NASA in the company’s ongoing anomaly investigation to understand the issue and the path forward. NASA will provide updates on agency missions, including any potential schedule impacts, as more information becomes available.”
SpaceX’s most productive launch vehicle, the Falcon 9, and the company’s Crew Dragon capsule also have their own notable astronaut missions on the horizon, including plans to fly tech billionaire Jared Isaacman and three crewmates into orbit on a mission called Polaris Dawn, which is expected to include the first spacewalk by private astronauts.
“SpaceX has an incredible history with the Falcon 9,” Isaacman said Friday at X. “As for Polaris Dawn, we will fly it when SpaceX is ready and has full confidence in the rocket, the spacecraft and operations.”
SpaceX is also expected to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in August as part of a long-standing contract with the space agency.
The fate of Starlink satellites
Musk said the Starlink satellites deployed on Thursday would not be able to stay in orbit for long because they are too close to Earth.
According to SpaceX, 13 of the 20 Starlink satellites launched on the Falcon 9 rocket were capable of direct cellular connectivity.
SpaceX said in an update Friday that it had made contact with 10 satellites and was attempting to enter their orbits, but that the likelihood of them surviving was low.
“We’re updating the satellite software to run the ion thrusters at the equivalent of warp 9,” Musk said. “Unlike a Star Trek episode, this probably won’t work, but it’s worth a shot.”
SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are designed to break up when they enter the atmosphere, so the satellites falling out of orbit should not pose a risk to people on the ground, SpaceX said in a post on X on Friday.
However, recent events have shown that space debris can unexpectedly survive atmospheric re-entry.
But some of the Starlink satellites may have reentered the atmosphere, according to McDowell, an expert in orbital mechanics. He pointed to a video circulating on social media showing several Starlink devices crashing in the sky near Chile, and noted that given the low altitude at which the satellites were deployed, their models suggest they would all be deorbited within a week or less.
It’s not yet clear what this unfortunate incident will mean for the future of SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Typically, rockets remain on the ground for months after a failure while engineers work to determine the root cause and verify the vehicle’s safety.
NASA did not immediately comment to CNN on Friday morning. When asked for additional information Friday, SpaceX pointed to updates shared on its X account.
The last in-flight failure of a Falcon 9 rocket was in June 2015, when the launch vehicle was powering a cargo mission to the International Space Station. The rocket was grounded for approximately six months after that unfortunate incident before resuming flight in December 2015.
Another problem occurred in September 2016, when a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a satellite exploded on the launch pad before liftoff. The rocket did not fly for another four and a half months.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 spacecraft has so far launched more than 350 missions, according to the company’s website.
McDowell said that’s a major reason why SpaceX’s Falcon 9 was able to recover so quickly, staying on the ground for weeks rather than months. The abundance of flight data could help the company quickly determine what went wrong, but he added that the failure was also a reminder of a broader problem.
“This shows the danger of a monopoly,” McDowell said, emphasizing the robustness of NASA’s decision to pursue two different astronaut transportation providers. “And that’s probably a good thing for (SpaceX) as well, because the danger for a vehicle this successful is overconfidence — and that will remind the team that, as you said, space is still tough, even for the Falcon 9.”
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