The incident occurred during a launch of Starlink satellites – which provide high-speed internet globally – from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink satellites suffered a rare malfunction last night (11 July) leading to the satellites being deployed on a much lower orbit than intended.
The space-tech company owned by Elon Musk said that the second stage engine on the Falcon 9 did not complete its second burn during a routine Starlink launch.
“SpaceX has made contact with five of the satellites so far and is attempting to have them raise orbit using their ion thrusters,” the company wrote in its most recent update on the incident.
Musk said earlier today that the Starlink team was updating satellite software to run the ion thrusters. “Unlike a Star Trek episode, this will probably not work, but it’s worth a shot,” he wrote in a post on X. “The satellite thrusters need to raise orbit faster than atmospheric drag pulls them down or they burn up.”
The incident occurred during a launch of Starlink satellites – which provide high-speed internet across the globe – from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
During tonight’s Falcon 9 launch of Starlink, the second stage engine did not complete its second burn. As a result, the Starlink satellites were deployed into a lower than intended orbit.
SpaceX has made contact with 5 of the satellites so far and is attempting to have them…
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 12, 2024
SpaceX reached a new milestone last month SpaceX after its Starship rocket – the biggest ever built – completed its fourth test launch and made a “soft landing” in the Indian Ocean.
Starship is part of SpaceX’s ambitious goals to take a leading role in humanity’s spacefaring future. The company is working with NASA to support its return to the moon – the Artemis missions – with this vehicle.
In March, SpaceX confirmed the deployment of a fresh batch of Starlink satellites aboard the Falcon 9 into lower-Earth orbit to bring high-speed internet to all corners of the globe.
This came just a day after four astronauts began their journey to the International Space Station aboard the Falcon 9 as part of the NASA Crew-8 mission.
SpaceX is the foremost private space-tech company in the world. It was recently selected by NASA to create a spacecraft that will de-orbit the International Space Station when it comes to the end of its life at the end of the decade.
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