2024-08-29 23:10:03
For the second time this year, the aviation regulatory body in the USA has suspended the flights of the Falcon 9 rockets of the SpaceX company, the world intelligence agencies, quoted by BTA, report.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has decided to suspend launches after an accident with a launch vehicle during landing on Wednesday.
No injuries or damage were reported.
The regulator ordered an investigation following the incident.
At this point, it’s still too early to say how the FAA’s decision will affect upcoming SpaceX crew flights, one of which is private and the other for NASA.
The mission, which included the first-ever private spacewalk, had been delayed just hours earlier due to an unfavorable weather forecast.
On Wednesday, the Falcon 9 launch vehicle lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and launched all 21 Internet satellites from the Starlink system into orbit. The first stage of the reusable rocket returned to Earth, but as it tried to land on the ocean platform, it burst into flames as usual.
While Wednesday’s incident did not endanger satellites or people, the landing failure indicated something went wrong with the rocket, which the FAA said could pose a greater risk to future missions if not thoroughly investigated.
The Federal Aviation Administration also said it must approve SpaceX’s findings about the incident and corrective actions before the company can resume Falcon 9 launches.
John Edwards, vice president of SpaceX, said they are working hard to find out as soon as possible what went wrong. Edwards added that fortunately such incidents are rare.
In addition to the private space flight awaiting launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, SpaceX is scheduled to carry two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) late next month. They were due to head to the orbital station on the Dragon spacecraft, which will return home next year the two astronauts stranded aboard because of problems with their Boeing Starliner capsule.
Groundings of the Falcon 9, the rocket that much of the Western world relies on to launch satellites and people into space, are rare.
The FAA last grounded the launch vehicle in July, for the first time since 2016, after its second stage failed in space, killing a batch of Starlink satellites.