SpaceX’s Falcon 9 cleared for space return

• Published On: 27 July 2024 at 07:25

The Federal Aviation Administration has authorised SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to resume space missions after a rare mid-flight malfunction.

The FAA verified that the anomaly during the July 11 launch posed no public safety threats, enabling the rocket to resume operations while the complete investigation continues.

SpaceX has stated that it is ready to relaunch the Falcon 9 as early as Saturday, July 27. The Falcon 9, the world's most popular rocket, was temporarily grounded after a mid-flight disintegration resulted in the loss of its payload of Starlink satellites, a huge setback after over seven years of successful operations.

SpaceX blamed the failure on a liquid oxygen leak that resulted in excessive cooling of an engine component. This problem was found back to a crack in a pressure sensor's sensing line. SpaceX intends to resolve the issue by removing the problematic sense line and sensor from future launches.

The Falcon 9 is currently the only US rocket capable of carrying NASA personnel to the International Space Station. NASA is planning its next crewed trip for August, using SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule launched atop the Falcon 9.