SpaceX has received permission to resume Falcon 9 flights. This became possible after the investigation into the causes of the rocket’s second stage accident, which occurred in early July, was completed.
The Falcon 9 accident occurred on July 12 during the mission, the purpose of which was to put into orbit a new batch of Starlink satellites. The incident could be seen live in the launch broadcast organized by SpaceX. The second stage began to leak oxygen at the operation site, after which its surface began to be covered with frost.
As a result, the Starlink satellites were put into a very low apogee orbit. SpaceX specialists tried to save the vehicles by raising the altitude using the engines installed on them, but it failed. The satellites soon burned up in the atmosphere.
During a subsequent investigation, engineers determined that the accident was caused by a crack in the pressure sensor line connected to the Falcon 9’s oxygen system. After the company submitted the report to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the agency said the anomaly posed no threat to public safety. As a result, SpaceX received permission to resume operation of Falcon 9. The next launch of the rocket should take place on July 27.
It is worth noting that the accident was an almost unprecedented event for Falcon 9. The previous time SpaceX lost a rocket in 2015. After that, the company carried out 334 consecutive successful Falcon 9 launches, which was a record series in the history of world astronautics.
According to Phys.org
