This image created from a SpaceX video, shows the moment when the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocketโs 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 companyโs Falcon 9 rockets and ordered an investigation following the predawn accident off the Florida coast. No injuries or public damage were reported.
Itโs too early to know how much impact this will have on SpaceXโs upcoming crew flights, one private and the other for NASA. A billionaireโs 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 SpaceXโs 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.
SpaceXโs Jon Edwards, a vice-president, said the company is working โASAPโ to understand what went wrong.
โLosing a booster is always sad. Each one of them has a unique history and character. Thankfully this doesnโt happen often,โ Mr. Edwards posted on X.
Besides the private spaceflight awaiting liftoff from Floridaโs 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 Boeingโs new Starliner capsule, deemed unsafe by NASA for their return.
