SpaceX has received permission to launch Falcon 9, but the investigation into the recent accident is not yet completed

U.S. regulators have given SpaceX permission to resume launches of its Falcon 9 rocket two weeks after it experienced a problem while attempting to launch another batch of Starlink satellites into orbit.

Image source: x.com/SpaceX

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that the investigation has not yet been closed, but SpaceX has already provided the agency with a report on the incident. “After a comprehensive review of [the incident], the FAA has determined that the anomaly that occurred during the SpaceX Starlink Group 9-3 launch on July 11 was not related to a public safety concern. This means that the Falcon 9 can return to flight while the general investigation remains open, provided that all license requirements are met,” the department told TechCrunch. The next launch will take place tomorrow, July 27, when the next batch of Starlink satellites will go into orbit.

The Falcon 9 encountered problems during the scheduled launch of a batch of Starlink satellites on July 11. The launch and separation of the stages took place as normal, but an accident occurred during the flight of the upper stage. 20 satellites were deployed, but their orbit turned out to be too low, which is why all the devices returned to the atmosphere and burned up. SpaceX subsequently reported that the accident was caused by a liquid oxygen leak in the Merlin engine insulation on the second stage. The leak was due to a crack in the measuring line connected to the pressure sensor, which was formed due to a loose clamp of the pipeline under stress from engine vibration.

The leak occurred during the first burn of the second stage engine in orbit, but the mission continued to operate as normal. The liquid oxygen, however, sharply cooled the engine components, and the second attempt to start the engine did not go according to plan: instead of a controlled combustion, the engine experienced a “hard start”, the engine was damaged, and the upper stage became disorientated in orbit. For the upcoming Falcon 9 launches, the company has removed the instrumentation pipeline and the associated sensor – the new engine design has already been tested at the SpaceX rocket complex in McGregor, Texas. The company also conducted a series of additional tests on these components and, in some cases, implemented “proactive replacements” on active devices.

Before the incident, SpaceX had 335 consecutive successful launches of Falcon family rockets, including 69 in 2022 and 96 in 2023.