The FAA has reportedly grounded SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket after a launch left a series of internet satellites in the wrong orbit. This may have implications for Boeing’s problematic Starliner and the Alabama built Atlas Five rocket that boosted the new space capsule to orbit. NASA contracted with both Boeing and SpaceX to have a redundant way to take astronauts to and from the International Space Station. With SpaceX grounded, even the problematic Starliner may look like a better alternative.
The Starliner made its initial voyage with astronauts on board by riding an Atlas Five rocket, built by the United Launch Alliance Company at its factory in Decatur. The Atlas Five originally carried only unmanned payloads like NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft that photographed Pluto before moving onto to farther bodies in the solar system. The Atlas also carried space probes like the Osiris-REx which gathered samples from an asteroid and returned them to Earth. The Alabama rocket was cleared to carry astronauts for the Starliner’s first trip with a crew on board. The rocket reportedly worked fine, but engineers are dealing with a series of glitches on the capsule, including faulty jet thrusters and helium leaks. No landing date has been set.
The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from California on Thursday night, carrying twenty Starlink satellites. Several minutes into the flight, the upper stage engine malfunctioned. SpaceX says the satellites were released, but flight controllers could make contact with only half of them. Controllers tried to boost their orbit, without success. That means they'll reenter the atmosphere and burn up. The Federal Aviation Administration insists the problem must be fixed before Falcon rockets can fly again.
The company said flight controllers managed to make contact with half of the satellites and attempted to boost them to a higher orbit using onboard ion thrusters. But with the low end of their orbit only 84 miles above Earth — less than half what was intended — "our maximum available thrust is unlikely to be enough to successfully raise the satellites," the company said via X.
SpaceX said the satellites will reenter the atmosphere and burn up. There was no mention of when they might come down. More than 6,000 orbiting Starlinks currently provide internet service to customers in some of the most remote corners of the world.
It was not known if or how the accident might impact SpaceX's upcoming crew flights. A billionaire's spaceflight is scheduled for July 31 from Florida with plans for the first private spacewalk, followed in mid-August by an astronaut flight to the International Space Station for NASA. The tech entrepreneur who will lead the private flight, Jared Isaacman, said Friday that SpaceX's Falcon 9 has "an incredible track record" and as well as an emergency escape system.
The last launch failure occurred in 2015 during a space station cargo run. Another rocket exploded the following year during testing on the ground. SpaceX's Elon Musk said the high flight rate will make it easier to identify and correct the problem.
