SpaceX says it has fixed the Falcon 9 and will resume launches tomorrow

SpaceX has completed investigation into cause of engine failure During the launch of the Falcon 9 on July 11The company has submitted an “accident report” to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and is set to get the Falcon 9 rocket back into flight as soon as tomorrow.

The company’s investigation team, working with the FAA, was able to determine that the July 11 failure was caused by a liquid oxygen leak that developed during the initial burn of the Falcon 9’s second-stage engine. It says the leak originated from a crack in a pressure sensor sense line that is part of the rocket’s oxygen system. A clamp that normally constrains the sense line had come loose, subjecting it to excessive engine vibration, eventually causing it to fatigue and crack.

According to a report, a leak of liquid oxygen in the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket caused “excessive cooling of engine components, particularly those involved in delivering ignition fluid to the engine.” Statement on SpaceX’s websiteInstead of a second controlled burn, the engine experienced a “hard start” according to SpaceX, which damaged the engine and caused the upper stage to lose altitude control.

During the July 11 launch, the Falcon 9’s first stage performed as expected and landed safely for reuse, but the second stage incident resulted in the Starlink satellites carried by the Falcon 9 being deployed into a lower orbit, where all 20 of them reentered Earth’s atmosphere and possibly burned up due to the “extremely high-drag environment.”

To allow the Falcon 9 to fly as soon as possible, SpaceX engineers will simply remove the failed sense line and sensor on the second stage engine. “The sensor is not used by the flight safety system and can be covered by an alternate sensor already present on the engine.” The company has also inspected, cleaned and replaced some sense lines and clamps on its “active booster fleet.” These changes have already been tested by SpaceX under FAA supervision at its facility in McGregor, Texas.

Now that the investigation is complete, the Falcon 9 rocket will no longer be grounded and can return to service. Company Website SpaceX has targeted July 27 at 12:21 a.m. ET for its next Falcon 9 launch carrying 23 Starlink satellites from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, with additional launch opportunities available later in the day and on July 28, the report said.