FAA grounds SpaceX after rocket crashes into flames on landing

SpaceX launches are suspended after a booster rocket toppled over in flames during landing Wednesday.

THE Federal Aviation Administration The company’s Falcon 9 rockets have been grounded and an investigation has been ordered following the crash, which occurred shortly before dawn off the Florida coast. No injuries or public damage were reported.

It’s too early to know what impact this will have on SpaceX’s upcoming crew flights, a private and the other for NASAA billionaire’s charter flight had been delayed hours earlier due to poor weather forecasts.

The rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and delivered all 21 Starlink internet satellites into orbit. But the first stage of the booster went down in a fireball moments after landing on an ocean shelf, the first such accident in years. It was the 23rd time that particular booster had been launched, a recycling record for SpaceX.

The FAA said it must approve SpaceX’s findings and corrective actions before the company can resume Falcon 9 launches. A launch from California with more Starlinks was immediately canceled after the accident.

Jon Edwards, SpaceX’s vice president, said the company was working “as soon as possible” to figure out what happened.

“Losing a booster is always sad. Each one has a unique story and character. Luckily, it doesn’t happen often,” Edwards posted on X.

In addition to the private spaceflight scheduled to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, SpaceX is scheduled to launch two astronauts for NASA late next month. Two seats will be reserved for the two astronauts who launched in June aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, which NASA deemed unsafe for return.

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