Failed SpaceX Satellites: The Fate of an X-ray Reactor in Case Cape Canveral, Fla.

On Thursday, the rocket blasted off from California carrying 20 Starlink satellites. Several minutes into the flight, the upper stage engine malfunctioned. On Friday, the company blamed a liquid oxygen leak.

Falcon 9’s second stage performed its first burn nominally, however a liquid oxygen leak developed on the second stage. After a planned relight of the upper stage engine to raise perigee – or the lowest point of orbit – the Merlin Vacuum engine experienced an anomaly and was unable to complete its second burn.

The company said on its website that it will work with the FAA to get to the bottom of the incident. The Falcon 9 has been grounded by the FAA pending the results of the investigation, reports CNBC.

The Falcon 9 has a lot riding on it — literally. It has been used for over half of all launches this year. (Thursday’s launch was the 70th Falcon 9 launch in 2024; in all of 2023, the Falcon 9 was used for 96 launches.)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX rocket has failed for the first time in nearly a decade, leaving the company’s internet satellites in an orbit so low that they’re doomed to fall through the atmosphere and burn up.

The satellites will reenter the atmosphere after burning up. There was no mention of when they might come down. More than 6,000 orbiting Starlinks currently provide internet service to customers in some of the most remote corners of the world.

It was not known if or how the accident might impact SpaceX’s upcoming crew flights. A billionaire’s spaceflight is scheduled for July 31 from Florida with plans for the first private spacewalk, followed in mid-August by an astronaut flight to the International Space Station for NASA.

The private flight leader stated Friday that the emergency escape system of the Falcon 9 will be an advantage.