SpaceX's Falcon 9 grounded ahead of historic Polaris Dawn mission
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Resilience capsule on Tuesday sits on Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the launch of the Polaris Dawn mission in Cape Canaveral, Florida, which has been postponed. Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets on Wednesday after a booster failed to land upright and exploded following the successful launch of Starlink satellites.
Why it matters: The grounding pending the outcome of an investigation into Wednesday's incident comes as SpaceX prepares for its Polaris Dawn mission featuring four private astronauts who are set to attempt the first-ever space walk by private citizens.
- SpaceX had hoped to launch Polaris this week, but "unfavorable weather forecasted" had prevented launch opportunities until at least Friday, per an online post by Elon Musk's spacecraft manufacturing company.
Driving the news: "The FAA is aware an anomaly occurred during the SpaceX Starlink Group 8-6 mission that launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on August 28," the FAA said in a statement to media Wednesday.
- "The incident involved the failure of the Falcon 9 booster rocket while landing on a droneship at sea. No public injuries or public property damage have been reported. The FAA is requiring an investigation."
- NASA said in a Wednesday media statement that it "will be included in the investigation to understand the issue and path forward" and it would "provide updates on agency missions including potential schedule impacts, if any, as more information becomes available."
What we're watching: It's unclear how long the investigation will take, but the Washington Post notes that SpaceX restarted missions after roughly a fortnight following the last investigation into a Falcon 9 rocket engine failure.
Go deeper: Drama in space
