2024-07-17 10:10:27
July 11 SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 10:35 p.m. local time ie one day later than originally planned. The launch initially went as expected, with the rocket’s first stage successfully separating from the second stage carrying the satellites before landing on the unmanned ship in the Pacific Ocean. However, the second stage is due to liquid oxygen leakage did not complete the second cycle of the engines and remained stuck in low Earth orbit. (It’s currently unclear if this leak has delayed the launch.)
The second stage of the rocket was able to launch the payload – but the satellites were stuck in an elliptical orbit around our planet with a minimum altitude of 135 kilometers, about half the normal altitude. At this altitude, atmospheric drag slowed the satellites down, and they began to fall back to Earth, written on July 11 In a statement from SpaceX representatives.
“At this level of drag, the maximum engine power we have is unlikely to be sufficient to successfully lift the satellites,” SpaceX officials wrote. “Therefore the satellites will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and completely disintegrate”
The company gained control of most of the satellites and forced them to operate at maximum engine power, known as warp 9, in a final attempt to reach altitude, reported by Space News. However, this was not enough to save the satellites.
Subsequent observations by Harvard University astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell confirmed that July 12. all 20 satellites suffered “death by fire”, reported by Spaceweather.com.
SpaceX representatives wrote that the re-orbiting spacecraft “did not pose a threat to other orbiting satellites or public safety.” And so far, there are no reports that the spacecraft has reached the Earth’s surface, according to Spaceweather.com.
It was the first Falcon 9 launch failure since 2016. and the largest single loss of Starlink satellites since 2022. February, when a geomagnetic storm swept 40 satellites out of the sky shortly after they were launched into Earth orbit.
SpaceX, under the supervision of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), is now investigating what happened, Space.com reported. The company will not be able to launch another 7 Falcon 9 rockets until this study is completed.
FAA 2023 also “frozen” SpaceX’s Starship interplanetary rocket after it launched on April 20 last year. it exploded minutes after takeoff on its first test flight.
It is currently unclear how long the Falcon 9 rockets will be “frozen”. But one unnamed industry expert told Space News that the spacecraft could be “frozen” for months — which, if it were to happen, would force a major overhaul of the company’s launch schedule for the rest of the year, according to Live Science.
2024-07-17 10:10:27