On July 12, at 4:39 am Italian time, Falcon 9 took off from the Vandenberg launch heart in California with 20 Starlink satellites on board, together with 13 for the Direct to Cell service after separation , firstclass again to regular on the barge After all I nonetheless love you, however the second stage had some issues. SpaceX has launched an replace on the web sitewith some further details about the issue.
First, SpaceX confirmed that the issue occurred through the second firing of the Merlin Vac engine (ie optimized for vacuum). This downside, the type of which was not specified, got here from a liquid oxygen leak within the stadium tank. There have been apparent causes for this leak, as a result of through the stay broadcast an excessive amount of ice may very well be seen accumulating close to the digicam.
This downside occurred when the second stage of the orbit (the closest level to the Earth in orbit) had a perigee of 135 km. SpaceX stated that the Starlink satellites which have been launched are at present descending about 5 km with every orbit, which is about each 90 minutes. Due to this fact the ion thrust thrust of the satellites shouldn’t be sufficient to boost the orbit to an altitude that ensures much less atmospheric freezing. Updating what was stated this morning, SpaceX stated that they had been in touch with 10 of the 20 Starlink satellites who was on board the Falcon 9.
SpaceX has introduced that they may re-enter the ambiance, fully destroyed by atmospheric friction.
No explosion?
As for what occurred to the second stage, SpaceX assertion reviews no explosion, regardless of Elon Musk saying this morning that the stadium had suffered from RUD (Speedy Unscheduled Disassembly). So it isn’t clear whether or not the stadium is fragmented or not. A minimum of it is going to re-enter the ambiance within the subsequent few days.
SpaceX additionally introduced that an investigation has been opened in collaboration with the FAA to supply an in depth understanding of the causes of this accident and to return the Falcon 9 to flight.
The unique article concerning the Falcon 9 accident could be learn right here.
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2024-07-12 17:19:20
#Learn #Falcon #stage #failure
