A SpaceX Falcon nine rocket exploded on the night of July 11, about an hour after launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The rapid unplanned disassembly (RUD) of the upper engine marked the first turn of the company’s fate in approximately 8 years. and ended a record streak of nearly three hundred successful missions carrying cargo, satellites and astronauts.
SpaceX was making plans for a Thursday night launch to put its new batch of Starlink web satellites into orbit. Although the 20 satellites were deployed, they did so lower than expected and in orbit. According to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell in X, the payload has most likely been released. in an orbit between 86 and 183 miles above the Earth instead of a constant circular altitude of 183 miles. SpaceX eventually contacted at least 10 Starlink satellites, but despite this, the company later demonstrated that they were not recoverable.
“The team made contact. . . and tried to put them into orbit with their ion thrusters, but they are in an incredibly high drag environment with their perigee, or the lowest point of their elliptical orbit,” SpaceX posted on social media Thursday night before confirming. that satellites will eventually re-enter Earth’s surroundings and “disappear completely. “
“They pose a risk to other satellites in orbit or to public safety,” SpaceX officials added.
The precise cause of the explosion may not be known until a full review of the accident, however, as Ars Technica noted on July 12, a live stream of the launch showed the “usual ice buildup” around the Merlin Vacuum engine. of the Falcon 9 or M-Vac. The engine uses a propellant composed of cryogenic liquid oxygen and kerosene, and the video appears to show it effectively completing its first burn; The ice possibly would have contributed to a subsequent engine challenge after the live broadcast ended. from SpaceX.
[Related: SpaceX spacecraft could mess up the lunar surface. ]
Even with this setback, the existing version of the Falcon nine, the Falcon Nine Block Five, remains the most capable and reliable rocket ever designed. With a total of 297 launches since the start of Block 5 in 2018, the reusable spacecraft still has a 99. 7% success rate.
The Falcon Nine’s last and only in-flight explosion occurred on June 28, 2015, when its upper-stage liquid oxygen tank exploded just minutes after launch, destroying it and its intended unmanned Dragon capsule. to the International Space Station. In this case, the Falcon 9 was grounded for six months while SpaceX investigated the accident.
It is not yet known how long it will be before the nine Falcon rockets resume their projects. In addition to its semi-regular deliveries of Starlink satellites, billionaire Jared Isaacman’s Polaris Dawn project to complete the first publicity spacewalk is planned for the end of the year. month. In August, SpaceX also finished sending NASA’s Crew-nine team of 4 astronauts to the ISS. “SpaceX has a history with Falconnine [sic],” Isaacman posted on
Andrew Paul is the editor of Popular Science covering generation news. Previously, he was a regular contributor to The A. V. Club and Input, and has recently published featured paintings in Rolling Stone, Fangoria, GQ, Slate, NBC, as well as McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. . Live outdoors in Indianapolis.
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