The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday cleared SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket to resume launch operations as it continues a probe into a failure of the rocket's second stage this month.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has been cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration to resume launch operations after the company determined the cause of an engine failure earlier this month. The company's primary commercial rocket was lifting a payload of 20 internet Starlink satellites into orbit on July 11 when the second-stage engine misfired, leaving the satellites in a lower orbit than intended. They later fell to earth and were destroyed in the atmosphere.
's space program has been underscored this month by the troubles experienced by Boeing's Starliner capsule, which is on its third test flight to the space station. The capsule, intended to give another vehicle to reach the station, launched its first human flight June 5 for what was expected to be an eight-day mission. But it has remained docked to the station for seven weeks due to helium leaks and a malfunctioning of its thruster engines.
and Boeing officials said Thursday that Starliner could be cleared to return the astronauts to earth as soon as next month, but there has been speculation that a Dragon capsule launched by a Falcon 9 may have to retrieve them.
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FAA investigating SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket anomalyMichael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, 'Out There,' was published on Nov. 13, 2018.
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FAA approves SpaceX to resume Falcon 9 rocket launches after two-week hiatusThe FAA approved SpaceX to resume flights of its mainstay Falcon 9 rocket after a being grounded about two weeks ago following a rare inflight failure.
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