CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. In a rare mishap, A SpaceX rocket failed for the first time in nearly a decade, leaving its batch of internet satellites in an orbit too low to sustain. The Falcon 9 rocket, which launched from California on Thursday night, was carrying 20 Starlink satellites when an upper-stage engine malfunction occurred. SpaceX attributed the failure to a liquid oxygen leak.
Despite efforts to correct the issue, SpaceX reported on Friday that only half of the satellites managed to establish contact with flight controllers. Attempts were made to boost these satellites to a higher orbit using onboard ion thrusters. However, with the low end of their orbit only 84 miles (135 kilometers) above Earth—less than half the intended altitude—SpaceX admitted, “our maximum available thrust is unlikely to be enough to successfully raise the satellites,” via a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
As a result, the satellites are expected to reenter the atmosphere and burn up, though no timeline was given for when this might occur. Currently, over 6,000 Starlink satellites orbit the Earth, providing internet service to some of the world’s most remote areas.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that the issue must be resolved before Falcon rockets can fly again. The impact of this accident on SpaceX’s upcoming crew flights remains uncertain. A private spaceflight led by tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman is scheduled for July 31 from Florida, which includes plans for the first private spacewalk. This will be followed by a mid-August astronaut flight to the International Space Station for NASA.
Isaacman, who will command the private mission, expressed confidence in the Falcon 9’s reliability, stating it has “an incredible track record” and also features an emergency escape system.
The last time SpaceX experienced a launch failure was in 2015 during a cargo run to the space station, followed by a ground testing explosion the subsequent year. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, emphasized that the high frequency of flights will aid in quickly identifying and resolving the problem.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
