Here’s a big news for the outer-world enthusiasts!
SpaceX could launch its Falcon 9 rocket again as early as July 27, following completion of an investigation opened two weeks ago into an anomaly at the upper stage level.
In a July 25 statement, the company said it had completed and submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration its mishap report on the July 11 launch where the rocket’s upper stage failed to execute a second burn, leaving its payload of Starlink satellites in an orbit too low for them to survive.
What went wrong with the launch on July 11?
What went wrong with the launch on July 11?
SpaceX concluded the failure was because of a liquid oxygen leak due to a crack in one of the sense lines for a pressure sensor. The crack had been formed by fatigue from engine vibration, and the clamp that was supposed to constrain the line loosely allowed it to move about.
The liquid oxygen leak caused the ice buildup seen on parts of the Merlin upper-stage engine during its ascent to orbit, although this did not affect the performance of the engine on that phase of flight. That leak caused ” excessive cooling of engine components,” according to SpaceX, including those that deliver ignition fluid to the engine.
SpaceX stated, “As a result, the engine experienced a hard start rather than a controlled burn, which damaged the engine hardware and caused the upper stage to subsequently lose attitude control.”
The stage itself remained intact and proceeded to deploy the satellites and made itself inactive (passivate). The satellites were placed in orbits whose orbiting points (perigees) were too low to survive because their electric thrusters could not counteract the high atmospheric drag.
SpaceX still needs clearance from FAA
SpaceX still needs clearance from FAA
While SpaceX completed the investigation, it still needed clearance from the FAA to resume those launches to make sure that there isn’t a public safety issue. In a statement to SpaceNews, the FAA confirmed that it has concluded the issue posed no threat to the uninvolved public.
The agency stated, “After a comprehensive review, the FAA determined no public safety issues were involved in the anomaly that occurred during the SpaceX Starlink Group 9-3 launch on July 11. This public safety determination means the Falcon 9 vehicle may return to flight operations while the overall investigation remains open, provided all other license requirements are met.”
From where to watch the Falcon 9 rocket launch?
From where to watch the Falcon 9 rocket launch?
Check the below hotspot list to watch the launch of Falco 9 rocket:
- Jetty Park Beach and Pier, 400 Jetty Park Road, Port Canaveral. Note, there’s a charge to park.
- Playalinda Beach, 1000 Playalinda Beach Road, Canaveral National Seashore. Note, there’s a charge to park, and access to Canaveral National Seashore isn’t always granted depending on capacity and time of day.
- Max Brewer Bridge and Parrish Park, 1 A. Max Brewer Memorial Parkway, Titusville. Note, parking is available on both sides of Max Brewer Bridge.
- Space View Park, 8 Broad St., Titusville
- Sand Point Park, 10 E. Max Brewer Causeway, Titusville
- Rotary Riverfront Park, 4141 S. Washington Ave., Titusville
- Riverfront Park at Cocoa Village, 401 Riveredge Blvd., Cocoa (just before State Road 520 Causeway)
- Cocoa Village, near the parks and shops or near the docks
- Various parks on Merritt Island
- Rotary Park, 1899 S. Courtenay Parkway, Merritt Island
- Kiwanis Park on Kiwanis Island Park Road on Merritt Island
- Port Canaveral, with ships from Disney Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean at port
- Alan Shepard Park, 299 E. Cocoa Beach Causeway, Cocoa Beach. Note, there could be parking costs.
- Cocoa Beach Pier, 401 Meade Ave. Parking fee varies.
- Lori Wilson Park, 1400 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach. Lori Wilson Park has a dog park, by the way.
- Sidney Fischer Park, 2200 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach. Note, there could be parking costs.
- Downtown Cocoa Beach, along Minutemen Causeway
- Tables Beach, 197 SR A1A, Satellite Beach
- The Tides on SR A1A in Satellite Beach
- Various parks, including the Pelican Beach Clubhouse, in Satellite Beach
- Pineda Causeway
- Eau Gallie Causeway
- Front Street Park near Melbourne (U.S. 192) Causeway and U.S. 1 in Melbourne
- Indialantic boardwalk at Melbourne Causeway and SR A1A
- Paradise Beach Park, aka Howard Futch Park, 2301 SR A1A, Melbourne (this is a beachside park)
- Sebastian Inlet Park, 9700 S. State Road A1A, Melbourne Beach (there is a cost to enter)
- Ambersands Beach Park, 12566 N. SR A1A, Vero Beach (free parking)
- South Beach Park, 1700 Ocean Drive, Vero Beach (free parking)
- Merrill Barber Bridge in Vero Beach
- Alma Lee Loy Bridge in Vero Beach
Latest Update
SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink satellites to orbit early Friday, Aug 2, continuing the company’s bounceback from a July 11 failure.
A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 Starlink craft lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday at 1:01 a.m. EDT.
The first stage of the Falcon 9 returned to Earth, as programmed, about eight minutes after launch and landed on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was the 12th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Nine of those 12 flights have been Starlink missions.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage hauled the 23 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit before deploying them there about 64 minutes after launch, according to SpaceX.
Conclusion
The 11 July launch failure and subsequent stand-down has had its impacts throughout the space industry in delaying launches for commercial and government customers, including NASA. It has Falcon 9 launches planned this August for a Cygnus cargo ship and the Crew-9 crew rotation mission to the International Space Station.
The agency has not revealed how those missions might be affected, although the agency is holding media briefings for the Crew-9 mission July 26. The media advisory for the briefings said that the mission remained on track to launch in mid-August.
You can visit the official website of SpaceX to get more news.
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