SpaceX is seeking a quick return to Falcon 9 launches after a rare failure of its booster rocket during a satellite launch last week.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) received a request from SpaceX on Monday (July 15) to continue the launch Falcon 9 flights during the mandatory accident investigation ill-fated Starlink mission 9-3 in which liquid oxygen leaked from the rocket’s upper stage. SpaceX has asked the FAA to make a public safety ruling that would allow the company to resume launches if the administration determines the anomaly “did not involve safety-critical systems or otherwise threaten public safety.” This was reported by SpaceflightNow reported on Tuesday (July 16). The FAA also provided Space.com with a statement upon request.
“The FAA is responsible and committed to protecting the public during commercial space shuttle launches and reentry operations,” the agency wrote in an emailed statement. “The FAA is reviewing the request [by SpaceX] and will be guided by data and security at every step of the process.”
If approved, SpaceX could potentially fulfill its plan by launching two human spaceflights in the coming weeks. The Falcon 9 uses different rocket variants for manned and unmanned launches. The first launch of astronauts, planned for July 31, is privately funded Polaris Dawn mission (funded by American billionaire Jared Isaacman), which will include the first advertisement going into space in high earth orbit. The second, expected in mid-August, is the launch of Crew-9 International Space Station on behalf of NASA.
NASA is following an investigation into SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch failure and its potential impact on the agency’s future astronaut missions, the space agency said in a July 12 statement.
“Crew safety and mission security are top priorities for NASA,” NASA officials wrote in a statement. “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 will provide an update on the agency’s missions, including potential schedule impacts, if any, as more information becomes available.”
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which has launched 364 missions into space and suffered only two failures in 14 years, suffered a liquid oxygen leak in its second stage during its July 11 launch.
“After the planned re-ignition of the upper stage engine to raise perigee – or the lowest point of the orbit – [single] Merlin vacuum engine [on the second stage] experienced an anomaly and was unable to complete its second burn,” SpaceX wrote July 12 update.
“Though the stage survived and was still putting on satellitesit did not complete a successful circular orbit, but passived itself, as is normally done at the end of each mission,” SpaceX added. “This put the satellites into an eccentric orbit with a very low perigee of 135 km [84 miles]which is less than half the expected perigee altitude.”
In its July 16 statement, the FAA said the request for a public safety determination will be evaluated on matters such as “safety-critical systems, the nature and consequences of the anomaly, the adequacy of the existing flight safety analysis, the performance of the safety organization, and environmental factors.” “
“If the FAA agrees that no public safety issues were involved,” the statement added, “the operator may return to flight while the investigation remains open, provided all other license requirements are met.”
The FAA did not provide a timeline for evaluating the request, which is standard practice in aviation safety investigations due to the complex nature of spaceflight. Missions with humans on board, such as Polaris Dawn and NASA Crew-9, would likely receive another level of scrutiny.
The vast majority of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets are in favor Starlink satellites, also made by SpaceX to expand its broadband satellite Internet business. However, the rocket is also used for critical national security missions as well as a selection of high-profile government satellites used for Earth observation, for example.
The Falcon 9 also launches the most of any rocket today, with 69 launches into space so far in 2024 (including one failure). China, the second largest launch entity in the world after SpaceX, yes 30 successful starts so far this year.