FAA demands investigation of irregularities in SpaceX’s Crew-9 astronaut launch

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is demanding an investigation into anomalies experienced by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket during the Crew-9 astronaut launch on September 28.

That liftoff successfully sent the Crew Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the International Space Station. However, the Falcon 9’s upper stage experienced problems after the capsule was deployed, SpaceX said on September 29. The problem was a ‘nominal deorbit burn’, which resulted in the upper stage landing in the ocean outside the target handling area. . (The first stage in Falcon 9 is reusable, but the upper stage is not.)

SpaceX pauses launches while it investigates the issue. The company’s investigation will be overseen by the FAA and said an investigation is not optional.

relevant: SpaceX Crew-9 astronaut mission: real-time updates

“The FAA is aware that an anomalous event occurred during the Space “There were no injuries to the public or damage to public property,” the FAA said, requesting an investigation. wrote in update.

Following today’s successful launch of Crew-9, Falcon 9’s second stage was deployed to the sea as planned but suffered a nominal off-orbit burn. As a result, the second stage landed safely in the sea, but missed the target area. We will resume the release later.September 29, 2024

The Crew-9 anomaly was the third Falcon 9 issue SpaceX has encountered in less than three months. On July 11, a liquid oxygen leak occurred in the rocket’s upper stage, resulting in the loss of 20 of the company’s Starlink internet satellites.

The incident grounded the Falcon 9 for two weeks. Then, on August 28, the Falcon 9 first stage failed in its landing attempt following a successful Starlink launch (it marked the 23rd liftoff for that particular booster). SpaceX was grounded for just a few days after the accident and returned to flights on August 31.

It’s unclear how long the current outage will last or what impact it will have on SpaceX’s always busy launch manifest. The company has several very notable launches this month, including NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, which is scheduled to launch toward the frozen Jupiter ocean moon Europa atop a Falcon Heavy rocket during a 21-day period on Oct. 21. We are planning takeoff. 10. Falcon Heavy and Falcon 9 use the same upper stage.

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