SpaceX pauses Falcon 9 launches after Starlink mission hiccup
SpaceX has temporarily stopped all Falcon 9 launches after a hiccup with the rocket's second stage during its latest Starlink mission on February 2.
While the mission still got 25 Starlink satellites into orbit, an unexpected issue popped up as the rocket prepared to head back down, resulting in the failure to perform the planned deorbit burn and an expected rapid reentry.
What exactly happened during the deorbit burn
The second stage ran into trouble just before its deorbit burn—basically, it couldn't finish its planned maneuver.
The vehicle performed as designed to successfully passivate the stage by venting propellant, but the orbit dropped lower than usual.
The US Space Force is tracking this as object 67673, and experts like Dr. Jonathan McDowell say it'll reenter Earth's atmosphere pretty quickly.
SpaceX is now digging through data to figure out what
SpaceX is now digging through data to figure out what caused the glitch and how to fix it.
Until they're sure everything's safe, upcoming missions—including another Starlink launch and NASA's Crew-12 flight to the ISS—are on hold.
Such pauses are rare but show how seriously SpaceX takes safety—even when things mostly go right.