SpaceX has temporarily halted Falcon 9 flights after a second stage failure caused the rocket to tumble back to Earth uncontrollably. The launch on February 2 successfully deployed 25 Starlink satellites from California, with the first stage landing perfectly on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You.” Despite this success, the second stage encountered issues during its deorbit burn and was instead passivated to prevent an accidental explosion upon re-entry.
Astronomer Jonathan McDowell noted that the stage returned to Earth between 01:30 and 03:30 UTC the next day. SpaceX stated they are reviewing data to understand what went wrong and how to fix it before resuming flights.
This isn’t the first time SpaceX has faced challenges with the second stage. A significant explosion in July 2024 caused the loss of Starship satellites, and in February 2025, debris rained down over Poland after another failed deorbit attempt.
It’s unclear how long Falcon 9 will be grounded, but this pause has already disrupted the launch schedule. The next Starlink mission, originally scheduled for February 6, has been pushed to February 14. The timing is critical for the Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which is set for February 11. With a reduced crew currently aboard the ISS due to the early return of Crew-11, any delay is unwelcome.
NASA is involved in the investigation, and an insider mentioned that SpaceX feels confident about resolving the issue in time for the Crew-12 launch. However, they also noted the need for at least one successful flight before carrying a crew again.
In recent news, about 70% of the general public expressed concern over safety in space travel, according to a recent survey. This highlights the importance of ensuring all systems are functioning correctly before manned missions proceed.
While SpaceX is at the forefront of commercial space travel, incidents like this remind us of the challenges involved. The FAA is also monitoring the situation, and we await further updates as investigations continue. For more information, you can check out SpaceX’s official statements here.
