FAA Grounds SpaceX After Rocket Falls Over In Flames At Landing

SpaceX’s launches are on hold after a booster rocket caught fire while landing on Wednesday.

Following the early morning mishap off the Florida coast, the Federal Aviation Administration suspended the company’s Falcon 9 rockets and demanded an investigation. There were no reports of injuries or public damage.

FAA Grounds SpaceX After Rocket Falls Over In Flames At Landing

It’s too early to say how much this may affect SpaceX’s planned crew trips, one private and one for NASA. A billionaire’s chartered flight was delayed only a few hours earlier due to a poor weather forecast.

The rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, delivering all 21 Starlink internet satellites to orbit. However, the first-stage booster exploded in a fireball shortly after landing on an ocean platform, marking the first such disaster in years. This was SpaceX’s 23rd launch of this specific rocket, setting a recycling record.

The FAA stated that before SpaceX can resume Falcon 9 launches, it must accept its accident findings and corrective action. Following the accident, a launch from California with more Starlinks was canceled immediately.

SpaceX’s vice president, Jon Edwards, said the business is working “ASAP” to determine what went wrong.

“The loss of a booster is always heartbreaking. Each of them has its own past and personality. “Fortunately, this does not happen very often,” Edwards wrote on X.

Aside from the private spaceflight awaiting liftoff from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre, the compnany is scheduled to send two astronauts for NASA late next month. Two seats will be reserved for the two astronauts who launched in June aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule and were declared dangerous by NASA for their return.

SOURCE | AP