Upper stage engine suffers a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly, leaving Starlink satellites too low
SpaceX has suffered a rare failure after a Falcon 9 upper stage malfunction left a batch of Starlink satellites in a lower-than-planned orbit.
The mission was to launch 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities. The launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 1935 Pacific time on July 11 seemed to go well, with the first stage of the Falcon 9 making a successful landing on a drone ship. However, something appeared to be amiss with the upper stage. Onlookers including this reporter saw an unusual build-up of what appeared to be ice around the Merlin engine during the first burn of the stage.
The implications of the failure are not immediately apparent. SpaceX has several launches scheduled for July, including more Starlink satellites and theNASA also depends on SpaceX to send crew to the ISS from US soil. The next launch is planned for August.
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