SpaceX is trying to resume launches of its Falcon 9 rocket soon. In a statement to Spaceflight Now, the Federal Aviation Administration said the company is pursuing a public safety decision.
That request was submitted on July 15, according to the FAA. If approved, it would allow SpaceX to resume launches of its Falcon 9 rocket while investigations into the Starlink 9-3 anomaly accident continue.
“The FAA is reviewing the request and will be guided by data and safety at every step of the process,” the FAA said in a statement.
After liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base on July 11, the Falcon 9’s second stage suffered a liquid oxygen leak that prevented it from entering a circular orbit before launching 20 Starlink satellites.
That request was submitted on July 15, according to the FAA. If approved, it would allow SpaceX to resume launches of its Falcon 9 rocket while investigations into the Starlink 9-3 anomaly accident continue.
“The FAA is responsible and committed to protecting the public during commercial space shuttle launches and re-entry operations,” the FAA said in a statement. “The FAA is reviewing the request and will be guided by data and safety at every step of the process.”
After liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base on July 11, the Falcon 9’s second stage suffered a liquid oxygen leak that prevented it from entering a circular orbit before launching 20 Starlink satellites.
The FAA has two ways to allow a rocket to return to service after an accident. The first is that it approves a final operator-led accident investigation report that would include “identification of corrective actions, if any.” These measures must be implemented and all related licensing requirements must be met.
The second option is to issue a public safety decision. According to the FAA, this would be an option if “the accident does not involve safety-critical systems or otherwise endanger public safety.”
“The FAA will review the request and, if approved, will authorize a return to flight operations while the accident investigation remains open and provided the operator meets all applicable licensing requirements,” the FAA wrote on its website.
After the Starlink 9-3 anomaly, SpaceX described its preliminary findings on its website, noting that a liquid oxygen leak prevented the Merlin upper stage vacuum engine from completing its second burn.
“Although the stage survived and still deployed satellites, it did not successfully orbit, but passived itself, as is usually done at the end of each mission,” SpaceX wrote on July 12. “So the satellites got into an eccentric orbit. with a very low perigee of 135 km, which is less than half the expected perigee height.”
“At this level of drag, our maximum available thrust is unlikely to be sufficient to successfully lift the satellites,” SpaceX added. “As such, the satellites will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and disappear completely.” They do not pose a threat to other satellites in orbit or to public safety.”
If the FAA agrees with SpaceX’s decision, the Falcon 9 could resume launch. The company has tentative plans to launch the Starlink 10-4 and Starlink 10-9 missions from its two launch pads in Florida later this week. That, of course, would be pending FAA approval.
That means SpaceX may have to wait until the investigation is complete before resuming launches of customer and government missions, such as the Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft or the Crew-9 astronaut flight.
Following the anomaly, NASA released a statement saying it was receiving “from SpaceX an overview of all items of interest in the Falcon 9 rocket as part of the fleet that the agency is tracking.”
“Crew safety and mission assurance are top priorities for NASA. SpaceX is providing information and engaging NASA in the company’s ongoing investigation of the anomalies to understand the problem and the way forward,” NASA said in a June 12 statement. “NASA will provide updates on the agency’s missions, including any potential impacts to the schedule, as more information becomes available.”
Spaceflight Now has reached out to NASA and asked if it requires the SpaceX-led accident investigation to be completed before NASA missions use the Falcon 9 rocket again. This story will be updated when we receive a response.