SpaceX is gearing up to fly its Falcon 9 rocket again this Monday night after a week of grounding. The wait followed an incident where a booster caught fire and exploded after landing. They plan two launches, one in California and another in Florida, depending on the weather.
The last Falcon 9 launch was on March 2, when SpaceX successfully sent 21 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. During recent news briefings, SpaceX leaders provided insights on the booster loss after only five flights.
Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX’s Vice President of Build and Flight Reliability, explained that roughly 85 seconds after launch, a fuel leak occurred in the first stage booster, known as B1086. Kerosene sprayed onto a hot engine part, which caused it to vaporize. The low oxygen levels in the engine section meant that there was no immediate fire during ascension. However, after the booster landed safely on the droneship “Just Read the Instructions,” oxygen was able to enter the engine area, igniting the leaked fuel and leading to the fire.
“The design worked as intended, containing the fire within the engine compartment,” Gerstenmaier added. He noted that, even if a problem had arisen during ascent, the damage would have been limited to just one engine, allowing the mission to continue.
SpaceX and NASA are reviewing the situation closely. Julianna Scheiman, director of NASA’s Science Missions for SpaceX, stated that they have analyzed the launch data to ensure there are no risks for upcoming missions. Denton Gibson, the Launch Director for NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), confirmed that his team conducted an independent assessment of the incident.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also looked into the incident, temporarily pausing the Falcon 9 fleet’s operations. They approved a return to flight on March 4, based on SpaceX’s investigation findings.
Nasa has the final say on the readiness of the Falcon 9 for the upcoming Crew-10 and SPHEREx/PUNCH launches. Other issues related to payload integration caused delays for the SPHEREx and PUNCH mission.
Gerstenmaier also discussed a previous incident from February 1, during the Starlink 11-4 mission, which involved a minor oxygen leak that affected the Falcon 9’s second stage. The leak caused a temporary loss of control, but the satellites deployed correctly. Unfortunately, a deorbit burn was skipped, and the rocket reentered over Poland, without causing any injuries.
In response to these events, SpaceX has implemented additional checks for potential leaks. They are confident that their precautions will keep upcoming missions on track. A static fire test of the Falcon 9 for the Crew-10 mission took place on March 9, and its results will be part of the launch readiness evaluation.
SpaceX is continuously working to improve its rocket reliability, ensuring safe and successful missions as they move forward.
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