On July 11, 2024, SpaceX launched Falcon 9 with 20 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Falcon 9’s first stage performed nominally, carrying the second stage and Starlink satellites to orbit, separating from the second stage as expected, and returning to Earth for a successful droneship landing, representing SpaceX’s 329th recovery of an orbital class rocket to-date.

However, a liquid oxygen leak developed on the second stage that broke apart in space and doomed its payload of Starlink satellites. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday grounded Falcon 9 rocket. This was the first failure in more than seven years of this reliable rocket. SpaceX has launched about 7,000 Starlink satellites of various designs into space since 2018.

“We knew this incredible run had to come to an end at some point,” Tom Mueller, SpaceX’s former vice president of propulsion who designed Falcon 9’s engines, replied to Musk on X. “… The team will fix the problem and start the cycle again.”

The Falcon 9 will be grounded until SpaceX investigates the cause of the failure, fixes the rocket and receives the agency’s approval, the FAA said in a statement. It isn’t known how long the ‘fix’ will take anywhere from several weeks or months.

Falcon 9’s second stage performed its first burn nominally, however a liquid oxygen leak developed on the second stage. After a planned relight of the upper stage engine to raise perigee – or the lowest point of orbit – the Merlin Vacuum engine experienced an anomaly and was unable to complete its second burn. Although the stage survived and still deployed the satellites, it did not successfully circularize its orbit, but it did passivate itself as normally performed at the end of each mission. This left the satellites in an eccentric orbit with a very low perigee of 135 km, which is less than half the expected perigee altitude.

The team worked overnight to make contact with the satellites in order to send early burn commands, but the satellites were left in an enormously high-drag environment only 135 km above the Earth (each pass through perigee removed 5+ km of altitude from the orbit’s apogee, or the highest point in the satellite orbit). At this level of drag, our maximum available thrust is unlikely to be enough to successfully raise the satellites. As such, the satellites will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and fully demise. They do not pose a threat to other satellites in orbit or to public safety.

We greatly appreciate the team’s effort to learn as much as possible from the satellites and attempt recovery.

This event is a reminder of how technically challenging spaceflight is. To date, we have completed 364 successful Falcon launches – safely carrying astronauts, customer payloads and thousands of Starlink satellites to orbit – making the Falcon family of rockets one of the most reliable in the world. SpaceX will perform a full investigation in coordination with the FAA, determine root cause, and make corrective actions to ensure the success of future missions. With a robust satellite and rocket production capability, and a high launch cadence, we’re positioned to rapidly recover and continue our pace as the world’s most active launch services provider.

SpaceX finally launches 20 Starlink smallsats including 13 Direct to Cell on Thursday

SpaceX experienced a foggy launch of 20 Starlink smallsats including 13 Direct to Cell satellites, on Thursday, July 11, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Station in California at 7:32 PST.

Likewise the booster faithfully returned and was visible through the fog. This is the 19th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, SDA-0B, and 13 Starlink missions.

Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

SpaceX changes launch date again now Thursday to launch 20 Starlink small sats including 13 Direct to Cell

Delay again as this launch has been passed down the line for days. The determination for the change of date on Wednesday occurred well before the intended launch at 7:39 tonight. Fingers crossed for Thursday.

Now SpaceX is targeting Thursday, July 11 for a Falcon 9 launch of 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Station in California.

Liftoff is targeted for 7:39 p.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 11:37 p.m. PT. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Friday, July 12 starting at 6:13 p.m. ET.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about 15 minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX.

Photo captured on Monday, July 8, by Satnews from SpaceX’s video stream.

This is the 19th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, SDA-0B, and 13 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

SpaceX’s Wednesday sendoff of 20 Starlink small sats including 13 Direct to Cell

Photo captured on Monday, July 8, by Satnews from SpaceX’s video stream.

A few changes of dates but at last SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, July 10 for a Falcon 9 launch of 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Station in California. Liftoff is targeted for 7:00 p.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 11:00 p.m. PT. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Thursday, July 11 starting at 6:37 p.m. ET.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about 15 minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX.

This is the 19th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, SDA-0B, and 13 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.