SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has received the green light from the United States air safety regulators to resume space operations after a mid-flight anomaly on July 11 that temporarily halted the operations of the most frequently launched rocket in the world.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Thursday
that, following a thorough review, no public safety concerns were identified in
the anomaly that took place during the SpaceX launch on July 11. As a result of
this determination, the Falcon 9 vehicle is cleared to resume flight
operations, pending compliance with all other licensing requirements, despite
the ongoing investigation.
SpaceX is prepared to recommence flight activities as soon
as Saturday, July 27th.
In a recent launch, an unmanned rocket transporting 20
Starlink internet satellites from the company encountered a malfunction,
causing them to be positioned in an improper orbit. This occurrence represents
the initial notable problem during more than 300 launches of the dependable
vehicle.
With impressive speed, SpaceX engineers quickly pinpointed
the underlying issue of the incident within a few hours of the failed flight,
according to Bloomberg.
SpaceX announced in an official statement on Thursday that
during the initial ignition of Falcon 9’s second stage engine, a liquid oxygen
leak was detected within the insulation surrounding the upper stage engine.
Investigations revealed that the leak originated from a crack in a sense line
connected to a pressure sensor attached to the vehicle’s oxygen system.
The organization, led by prominent technology entrepreneur
Elon Musk, plans to conduct approximately 148 flights this year using its
Falcon rocket series. SpaceX rockets have already completed numerous successful
launches this year, excluding test flights of its innovative Starship rocket.
In late July, SpaceX plans to launch a crew of four private
astronauts, including notable billionaire Jared Isaacman, on a mission to
perform the inaugural commercial spacewalk using SpaceX’s newly developed
spacesuits.
Additionally, the company is looking forward to its next
crewed launch for NASA in August, known as Crew-9, which will carry four
astronauts to the International Space Station.