SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is grounded after fiery landing failure

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket pursuing a failed landing effort during a caller Starlink mission. After successfully carrying the satellites into orbit connected Wednesday, the first-stage booster returned to Earth and toppled into the Atlantic Ocean successful a fireball soon aft touchdown, ending a streak of 267 palmy landings.

The FAA has ordered an probe into the failed touchdown. “The incidental progressive the nonaccomplishment of the Falcon 9 booster rocket portion landing connected a droneship astatine sea. No nationalist injuries oregon nationalist spot harm person been reported,” an FAA spokesperson said in a connection to Reuters. “A instrumentality to formation of the Falcon 9 booster rocket is based connected the FAA determining that immoderate system, process, oregon process related to the anomaly does not impact nationalist safety.”

These investigations thin to wrapper up reasonably rapidly astatine least, with SpaceX liable for conducting the probe itself and the FAA past assessing its findings. This is the second grounding for SpaceX this twelvemonth aft a liquid oxygen leak successful the Falcon 9 booster caused a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” during different Starlink outer transportation ngo successful July. The FAA permitted the Falcon 9 to beryllium returned to formation conscionable 15 days later. 

Groundings for SpaceX workhorse rocket are rare, with the past 1 occurring successful 2016 anterior to the 2 incidents this year. According to SpaceX, the circumstantial booster that failed connected Wednesday was connected its 23rd flight.