SpaceX’s trusty Falcon 9 rocket, which powers satellite launches and space voyages for astronauts, suffered a rare and troubling malfunction Thursday night as it attempted to launch a batch of internet satellites into space. The ordeal has prompted federal regulators to ground the rocket, which has become a cornerstone of the U.S. and global launch industries over the past decade.
The incident marks the first time in nearly a decade that a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which also plays a key role in NASA’s manned space program, has failed.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches, said Friday morning that an investigation into the incident was needed, although no “public injuries or damage to public property” had been reported.
The FAA, which routinely launches such investigations in the name of public safety after rockets or spacecraft fail, indicated it will be involved in issuing corrective actions SpaceX must take and in determining when the Falcon 9 might return to the launch pad.
If the Falcon 9 is out of service for an extended period of time, it could mean major setbacks for NASA’s astronaut launch schedule, SpaceX’s space tourism efforts, the company’s satellite internet service and the global commercial satellite industry, which relies heavily on the Falcon 9.
Post-launch anomaly
The Falcon 9 in question took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday evening around 10:30 p.m. local time.
According to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, the launch vehicle carried 20 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink network, which already operates more than 6,000 satellites launched via dozens of launches.
Most flights went without any major problems, but Thursday was different.
The first part of the mission appeared to go smoothly, with the Falcon 9 using its first-stage booster — the lower part of the rocket with nine engines that provide the initial burst of energy at launch — to propel itself toward space.
The booster was then detached and safely landed back on an ocean platform so that SpaceX could refurbish and reuse it.
But the rocket’s second stage, designed to fire after the first stage fails and carry the satellites to their final orbital destination, failed abruptly. The cause was not immediately clear.
“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 placed in a lower orbit than intended,” a SpaceX statement said.
Later on Friday, SpaceX added in a statement that the rocket’s upper stage had experienced a “liquid oxygen leak.” Liquid oxygen, or LOX, is used as an oxidizer for the fuel aboard the Falcon 9.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk added in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the second stage didn’t just fail — it was what his company typically calls a “RUD,” or “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” which usually refers to an explosion.
And while the rocket launched all the satellites it carried, they ended up in a precarious orbit that brought them much closer to Earth than intended, leaving the devices at the mercy of the powerful pull of Earth’s gravity.
Musk added in a separate post on X that SpaceX would “investigate the issue and look for other possible near misses.”
“We plan to do more Falcon flights this year than the Shuttle has done 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 30-year history.)
A pivotal moment for SpaceX
Thursday’s accident raises questions about how long the Falcon 9 rocket will have to remain out of service, at a crucial time for SpaceX and the U.S. aerospace industry.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 plays a key role in NASA’s space program, routinely transporting astronauts into space.
The SpaceX mishap comes after Boeing’s Starliner vehicle, which will launch astronauts with SpaceX, experienced several problems during its first crewed mission.
The Starliner has had its mission delayed for weeks longer than expected as engineers try to determine what caused helium leaks and thruster problems during the first part of the spacecraft’s journey.
While NASA and Boeing officials are confident that the Starliner can bring its crew home, Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Manager, noted Wednesday that SpaceX is an alternative option.
“The great thing about the Commercial Crew Program is we have two vehicles,” Stich said, referring to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which routinely launches on the Falcon 9, and the Starliner.
“We have a little bit more time to look at the data and then make a decision whether we need to do something different,” Stich said, referring to the flexibility SpaceX could provide to the International Space Station schedule and the Starliner test flight.
Crucially, the Falcon 9 was also scheduled to launch the next cargo resupply mission to the ISS, to resupply the Starliner test crew and other astronauts aboard the space station. The two Starliner astronauts went into space without two suitcases they had packed with clothes and toiletries, because NASA needed a toilet pump on board their flight. It is not yet clear whether NASA will be forced to postpone that 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 determine the path forward. NASA will provide updates on the agency’s missions, including potential impacts to planning, if any, as more information becomes available.”
SpaceX’s most prolific launch vehicle, Falcon 9, and the company’s Crew Dragon capsule also have some notable astronaut missions planned. That includes plans to fly tech billionaire Jared Isaacman and three crewmates into orbit on a mission called Polaris Dawn, which is expected to feature the first-ever spacewalk by private astronauts.
“SpaceX has an incredible track record with Falcon 9,” Isaacman said Friday at X. “As for Polaris Dawn, we will fly when SpaceX is ready and with complete confidence in the rocket, the spacecraft and the operations.”
In August, SpaceX is also expected to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station as part of a long-term contract with the space agency.
The Fate of the Starlink Satellites
Musk said the Starlink satellites launched Thursday may be too close to Earth to remain in orbit for long.
Of the 20 Starlink satellites launched on the Falcon 9 rocket, 13 had direct-to-cellular connectivity, SpaceX said.
In an update posted Friday, SpaceX said it had made contact with 10 of the satellites and was attempting to raise their orbits, but that it was unlikely they would survive.
“We’re updating the satellite software to run the ion engines at their equivalent of warp 9,” Musk said. “Unlike a Star Trek episode, this probably won’t work, but it’s worth a try.”
According to the company, SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are designed to disintegrate if they re-enter the atmosphere. SpaceX said in a message on X on Friday that satellites that fall out of orbit do not pose a danger to people on the ground.
However, recent incidents have shown that space debris can unexpectedly survive re-entry into the atmosphere.
However, according to McDowell, an expert in orbital mechanics, some of the Starlink satellites may already be back in the atmosphere. He pointed to a video circulating on social media showing a few of the Starlink devices falling through the air near Chile and noted that his models show that, given the low altitude at which the satellites are deployed, they should all be dragged out of orbit within a week or so.
It’s unclear what the accident means for the future of SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Typically, rockets remain grounded for months after a failure while engineers try to determine the cause and verify the safety of the vehicle.
NASA did not comment to CNN Friday morning. When asked for additional information Friday, SpaceX pointed to updates shared on its X account.
The last time a Falcon 9 rocket failed in flight was in June 2015, when the launch vehicle was powering a cargo mission to the International Space Station. The rocket was grounded for about six months after that accident before flying again in December 2015.
Another problem occurred in September 2016, when a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a satellite exploded on the launch pad before launch. The rocket did not fly for another four and a half months.
According to SpaceX’s website, the Falcon 9 has flown more than 350 missions in total.
That’s a big reason why SpaceX’s Falcon 9 can recover quickly and stay on the ground for weeks instead of months, McDowell noted. The wealth of flight data can help the company quickly figure out what went wrong. But this failure, he added, was also a reminder of a broader problem.
“It shows the danger of monopoly,” McDowell said, emphasizing the soundness of NASA’s decision to approach two different astronaut transportation providers. “And it’s probably good for (SpaceX) as well, because the danger with a vehicle that’s been this successful is hubris — and so this will remind the team that, as you say, space is still hard, even for Falcon 9.”
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