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SpaceX launched its mission to save the two Starliner astronauts, but it didn’t entirely go as planned.
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The company’s Falcon 9 rocket was grounded after a booster landed in the wrong place.
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This is the third time in three months that the Falcon 9 has been grounded.
SpaceX’s rocket was grounded for the third time in three months after a malfunction during a mission to rescue two astronauts stranded in space.
The Crew-9 mission successfully reached the International Space Station on Sunday as it prepares to bring home astronauts stranded by Boeing’s Starliner – but the launch didn’t entirely go as planned.
In an article published Sunday on X, SpaceX wrote that the second stage booster of its Falcon 9 rocket suffered a “non-nominal deorbit burn” that caused it to land outside the target area.
SpaceX said it would resume launches once it understood the problem, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requesting an investigation. The regulator said no public injuries or property damage occurred due to the landing.
This is the third time SpaceX’s reusable rocket has been grounded in the past three months.
The Falcon 9 was failed in July after an accident with the booster which caused a batch of Starlink satellites to burn up in orbit. This It was the company’s first mission failure in more than seven years.
The rocket was also briefly grounded by the FAA in August. after failing in an attempt to return to Earth.
The problems come as SpaceX and Musk clash with the FAA over the regulator’s investigations into the company and the pace at which it greenlights rocket launches.
SpaceX criticized the FAA in September after the fifth launch of its Starship rocket was delayed by two months, with Elon Musk saying humanity “will never reach Mars if this continues.”
Musk also accused the regulator of playing favorites, arguing that it should punish Boeing for problems with its Starliner spacecraft rather than fine SpaceX for “trivia.”
The Crew-9 mission flew to the ISS half-empty as it prepared to bring home the two astronauts stranded on the space station by Boeing’s Starliner.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were scheduled to return home aboard the Starliner several months ago, but problems with the Boeing spacecraft during its first crewed flight led NASA to decide to send it home him empty.
SpaceX has stepped in and will now return the two astronauts to Earth aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft no earlier than February.
SpaceX won its contract to supply the ISS at the same time as Boeing, but has beaten its rival in the space race.
Musk has often mocked Boeing over problems with the aerospace giant’s space program, saying the company had too many “non-technical managers.”
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment, sent outside of normal business hours.
Read the original article on Business Insider
