SpaceX Resolves Falcon 9 Failure, Aims for July 27 Return to Flight

SpaceX has successfully identified and resolved the cause of the failure of its Falcon 9 rocket, which occurred during a launch earlier this month. The incident on July 11 saw the rocket's upper stage experience a leak of liquid oxygen, preventing it from conducting the planned orbit-raising burn. As a result, the Starlink satellites being carried were deployed at a lower altitude and ended up burning up in the Earth's atmosphere sooner than expected.

In an update provided on July 25, SpaceX revealed that the leak was caused by a crack that developed in a sense line connected to the oxygen system's pressure sensor. This crack resulted from fatigue induced by engine vibrations along with looseness in the clamp that should have secured the line. Following this discovery, the company has taken the necessary steps to rectify the issue and prevent its reoccurrence, Space reported.

The sequence of events during the launch indicated that while the first burn performed as planned, the leak prevented the upper stage from executing the second burn. This burn was intended to circularize the orbit before deploying the Starlink satellites. The investigation conducted by SpaceX, under the supervision of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), revealed that the leak caused excessive cooling of crucial engine components responsible for ignition fluid delivery. As a result, the engine suffered a hard start rather than a controlled burn, leading to damage to the engine hardware and subsequent loss of attitude control for the upper stage.

Despite these setbacks, the upper stage-managed to deploy all 20 satellites; however, they did not remain in orbit for long due to the unsuccessful burn. With the root cause of the failure identified and rectified, SpaceX is now confidently working towards preparing for a return to flight as early as July 27.

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