FAA grounds SpaceX after rocket falls over in flames at landing

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This image created from a SpaceX video, shows the moment when the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocketโ€™s first-stage fell over in flames after landing on an ocean platform offshore, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in the Atlantic Ocean.
| Photo Credit: AP

SpaceX launches are on hold after a booster rocket toppled over in flames while landing on Wednesday (August 28, 2024).

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the companyโ€™s Falcon 9 rockets and ordered an investigation following the predawn accident off the Florida coast. No injuries or public damage were reported.

Itโ€™s too early to know how much impact this will have on SpaceXโ€™s upcoming crew flights, one private and the other for NASA. A billionaireโ€™s chartered flight was delayed just a few hours earlier because of a poor weather forecast.

The rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and got all 21 Starlink internet satellites to orbit. But the first-stage booster fell over in a fireball moments after landing on an ocean platform, the first such accident in years. It was the 23rd time this particular booster had launched, a recycling record for SpaceX.

The FAA said it must approve SpaceXโ€™s accident findings and corrective action before the company can resume Falcon 9 launches. A launch from California with more Starlinks was immediately called off following the accident.

SpaceXโ€™s Jon Edwards, a vice-president, said the company is working โ€œASAPโ€ to understand what went wrong.

โ€œLosing a booster is always sad. Each one of them has a unique history and character. Thankfully this doesnโ€™t happen often,โ€ Mr. Edwards posted on X.

Besides the private spaceflight awaiting liftoff from Floridaโ€™s Kennedy Space Centre, SpaceX is due to launch a pair of astronauts for NASA late next month. Two seats will be set aside for the two astronauts who launched in June aboard Boeingโ€™s new Starliner capsule, deemed unsafe by NASA for their return.



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