FAA orders SpaceX to investigate Falcon 9 failure after Crew-9 launch

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has asked SpaceX to investigate why the second stage of its Falcon 9 rocket failed following the launch of NASA’s Crew-9 astronaut mission last Saturday, ordering the suspension of rocket launches for the third time in three months. .

After SpaceX launched two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, the rocket stage that has carried the crew furthest into space is reported by Reuters. was unable to restart the engine properly due to “orbital ignition”.a routine procedure in which a launch vehicle is jettisoned into the ocean after completing its flight.

The Dragon spacecraft carrying the astronauts continued to the ISS without incident and docked with the ISS on Sunday as planned. Malfunction caused by rocket fell in the Pacific Ocean outside a designated safety area approved by the FAA for the mission.

SpaceX said the rocket “experienced an unusual burnout.” “As a result, the second stage landed safely in the ocean, but outside the target area.”

Saturday’s decision was the third resulting in the FAA grounding flights in the past three months. Before this, shutdowns of Falcon 9, SpaceX’s flagship rocket on which much of the Western world depends for access to space, were rare.