In a rare development today, SpaceX's Falcon 9 second stage failed in space as part of its latest Starlink launch. Footage from SpaceX's live stream showed unusual ice buildup on the second stage, and after the end of the stream, the firm confirmed that the rocket had failed to perform according to the mission profile. SpaceX chief Elon Musk added that the engine had experienced a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (RUD) in orbit, and while SpaceX was trying to reconfigure its Starlink satellites to allow them to follow the mission profile, it was unlikely that the spacecraft would reach their intended orbital destination.
SpaceX'x Falcon 9 Second Stage Malfunctions In Space - Starlink Satellites Unlikely To Reach Orbital Destination
The Falcon 9 took off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California late at night Eastern time yesterday with a batch of 20 Starlink satellites. As SpaceX continues to develop its Starlink network and expand coverage options, it has also teamed up with telecommunications carriers to allow users to communicate directly with the satellites through their phones. For these features, it has been regularly launching direct to cell Starlink satellites too, and today's launch featured another batch of 13 direct to cell satellites.
While the launch itself was a standard affair, with the Falcon 9 lifting off and then landing on SpaceX's drone ship to complete SpaceX's 70th launch for 2024, the second stage's performance during the mission's latter half didn't go according to plan. During some of its satellite launches, SpaceX has to fire the second stage Merlin vacuum engine multiple times to raise altitude. Today's launch was one such mission, and the first sign of trouble appeared at roughly eight minutes post liftoff as an unusual amount of ice started building up on the second stage.
Roughly two hours after the launch live stream ended, SpaceX's Elon Musk got the ball rolling as he shared that the second stage had experienced a RUD during the mission. He outlined that while the Starlink satellites had deployed, their altitude might be too low for a successful mission. SpaceX deploys its Starlink satellites at a lower altitude than their operational orbit. Called a parking orbit, this allows the satellites to run system checks before they fire their onboard thrusters to raise orbit.
Musk added that SpaceX was reviewing the data and it would discover more details in the coming hours. Roughly an hour later, SpaceX confirmed that the "second stage engine did not complete its second burn." This led to the Starlink satellites being "deployed into a lower than intended orbit," with SpaceX adding that it had "made contact with 5 of the satellites" and it was "attempting to have them raise orbit using their ion thrusters."
Firing up a second stage engine is different from firing it on Earth. Engineers have to ensure that the rocket's fuel is stable enough to flow into the engines and that it is at the correct temperature for ignition, too. In response to SpaceX's update which also outlined that it had "made contact with 5 of the satellites so far," Musk shared that his company had fired the satellites' thrusters at their maximum power. "The satellite thrusters need to raise orbit faster than atmospheric drag pulls them down or they burn up," stated the executive.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
