The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States announced on Thursday (July 25) that it has approved the return of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to space. This decision comes after the rocket, which is the most frequently used in the world, was grounded for two weeks due to a rare malfunction during a flight.
In a statement Thursday evening, the FAA confirmed that the issue encountered by the Falcon 9 rocket during its launch mission on July 11 “does not involve public safety concerns,” and as a result, the rocket is now cleared for return to space.
The regulatory agency stated, “This public safety determination means that, pending completion of the overall investigation, the Falcon 9 launch vehicle is cleared to return to flight operations, provided all other licensing requirements are met.”
SpaceX took to the X social media platform to announce that the company is prepared to have the rocket return as early as this Saturday.
The Falcon 9 rocket is the most frequently used in the world, with launches occurring on average every two to three days this year. In a statement released on Thursday on the company’s website, SpaceX emphasized, “Safety and reliability are at the core of SpaceX operations. Without this focus, we would not be able to achieve our current cadence.”
On July 11, while carrying a payload of 20 Starlink internet satellites into orbit, SpaceX’s primary commercial rocket experienced an issue with the second-stage engine, resulting in the satellites being placed in a lower-than-planned orbit. Subsequently, these satellites fell towards Earth and burned up in the atmosphere.
This was the first malfunction of this globally relied-upon rocket in over seven years. In a statement on Thursday, SpaceX attributed the issue to a liquid oxygen leak causing one component of the engine to become excessively cold and damaged.
SpaceX added that the investigation determined that a crack in the pressure sensor’s sensing line caused the liquid oxygen leak. The company plans to remove the faulty sensing line and sensor from the second-stage engine for upcoming launches.
The Falcon 9 is the only rocket in the United States capable of sending NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. NASA is scheduled to send astronauts into space again in August, with the Falcon 9 rocket set to participate in this mission.