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CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — An issue with a Falcon 9 rocket during a launch in California may push back the Crew-12 mission.
What You Need To Know
- An issue with the Falcon 9 rocket during re-entry has forced SpaceX to hold off on launches until the cause has been resolved
During SpaceX’s Starlink 17-32 mission on Monday morning, an issue came up with the company’s Falcon 9 rocket after it took off from Space Launch Complex 4 East from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
“During today’s launch, the second stage experienced an off-nominal condition during preparation for the deorbit burn. The vehicle then performed as designed to successfully passivate the stage,” SpaceX stated.
The rocket was able to send up the 25 Starlink communication satellites to low-Earth orbit, the Texas-based company stated.
However, the issue has forced SpaceX to hold off on future launches.
“Teams are reviewing data to determine root cause and corrective actions before returning to flight,” SpaceX stated.
NASA has not yet stated how this will impact its Crew-12 flight to the International Space Station, as the U.S. space agency has contracted SpaceX to send astronauts to and from the space station.
“The next mission to the orbital outpost, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12, is targeted to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, no earlier than Feb. 11,” NASA stated in a blog post on Monday.
The mission will see NASA’s Cmdr. Jessica Meir, pilot Jack Hathaway, and mission specialists Sophie Adenot of European Space Agency and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos spending months on the floating laboratory.
The Crew-11 mission was cut short due to a medical issue.
Spectrum News reached out to both NASA and SpaceX for comment, with only NASA stating it will send out a statement later Tuesday.
The FAA has not issued a statement about the Falcon 9 issue.
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Anthony Leone
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