This Week in Launch: Is SpaceX back already?

We only have two known launches this week and both will be coming from SpaceX within a couple hours of each other. However, there is no word from the FAA if the agency has green-lit the company to return to flight.

This week’s launches:

• July 25 (Thursday)
  • SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-4 | 12:14 A.M. ET
    • SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
  • SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 9-4 | 1:34 A.M. PT
    • SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Station, California

Update on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 grounding

About two weeks ago SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was grounded due to a failure on the second stage engine that left a batch of Starlink satellites doomed to reenter the atmosphere after launch. The cause of the failure was linked back to a leak of liquid oxygen on the second stage which you could see when watching the first engine burn on the company’s livestream.

While the first burn was successful, the engine failed during a second burn after the stream had ended.

According to Ars Technica, sources claim that SpaceX found and implemented a fix for the issue late last week. The company attempted to gain the ability to launch its rockets as soon as possible, however we are still waiting on the conclusion to the FAA’s mishap investigation.

Usually companies can take months to remedy a failed launch, but after over 300 successful launches in a row, SpaceX has a rare ability to understand its vehicles better than anyone else. Add in the company’s culture to push timelines to what is possible, means a one week break for SpaceX shouldn’t be too surprising.

While SpaceX has two Falcon 9 launches scheduled for this week, whether of not those liftoff from their respected coasts is entirely up to the FAA. SpaceX hoped to get a waiver to continue launching but there’s no word on if that will be granted.

However, since it seems like SpaceX knows what went wrong, the FAA could close its investigation quicker than what we’ve seen in the past. Another likely outcome is government red tape keeps the Falcon 9 from flying for another week or more.