SpaceX Launch Goes Haywire As Falcon 9 Engine Failure Drops Satellites In Wrong Orbit

The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has grounded SpaceX’s Falcon 9 program following an incident this week where an engine failure left Starlink satellites on a shallow orbital path. SpaceX reported the satellites will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, during which the satellites should burn up entirely.

On July 11, SpaceX, which recently won the bid to build the vehicle that will deorbit the International Space Station, launched 20 Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenburg Space Force Base. While the first stage of the Falcon 9 performed as expected, the second stage developed a liquid oxygen leak. Following a planned relight of the upper stage engine, the Merlin Vacuum engine experienced an “anomaly,” and could not complete its second burn. The failure of a second burn caused the 20 Starlink satellites to be placed on a shallow orbital path.

To put the Falcon 9 incident into a safety perspective, the failed launch was Falcon 9’s 364th mission, and the first Falcon 9 failure since 2016, when a Falcon 9 rocket exploded on a launch pad in Florida. SpaceX completed 96 launches last year alone, exceeding the annual launch total in any country. The rocket failure also pales in comparison to a recent rocket launch debacle in China

Following the launch, SpaceX reported on X social media it had made contact with 10 of the satellites and attempted to raise their orbits using their ion thrusters. However, because the satellites were in an extremely high-drag environment with their perigee, or lowest point of their elliptical orbit, it was unlikely it would be enough to successfully raise the satellites to their correct orbital path, and the satellites would eventually meet their demise while re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. SpaceX concluded by remarking the satellites do not pose a risk to other satellites, or to public safety.

SpaceX said on its website about the Falcon 9 failure, “This event is a reminder of how technically challenging spaceflight is. To date, we have completed 364 successful Falcon launches – safely carrying astronauts, customer payloads and thousands of Starlink satellites to orbit – making the Falcon family of rockets one of the most reliable in the world.” The space agency added it will perform a full investigation in coordination with the FAA to determine the root cause, and make corrective actions to ensure the success and safety of future missions.

Tom Mueller, SpaceX’s former vice president of propulsion, and who helped design Falcon 9’s engines, remarked in a reply to Elon Musk on X, “We knew this incredible run had to come to an end at some point. The team will fix the problem and start the cycle again.”