This image from a video provided by SpaceX shows the upper stage engine of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which launched from California on Thursday.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX rocket has malfunctioned for the first time in nearly a decade, leaving the company’s internet satellite in low orbit, destined to fall into the atmosphere and burn up.
A Falcon 9 rocket launched from California on Thursday night carrying 20 Starlink satellites. Just minutes into liftoff, its upper stage engine failed. SpaceX said Friday that the cause was a liquid oxygen leak.
The company said flight controllers had contacted half of the satellites and were attempting to use their onboard ion thrusters to lift them into a higher orbit, but with the orbit’s lower limit just 84 miles (135 kilometers) from Earth, less than half of what was originally planned, “the maximum available thrust would likely not be sufficient to successfully launch the satellites,” the company said via X.
SpaceX said the satellites would burn up as they re-entered the atmosphere, without saying when they would fall. There are now more than 6,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, providing internet service to customers in some of the world’s most remote places.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the issue must be resolved before the Falcon rocket can fly again.
It’s unclear if and how the incident will affect SpaceX’s future crewed missions. The billionaire’s flight is scheduled to depart from Florida on July 31 for the first private spacewalk, followed by a NASA astronaut to the International Space Station in mid-August.
Jared Isaacman, the tech entrepreneur leading the private flight, said Friday that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has a “great track record” and is equipped with an emergency escape system.
The last launch failure occurred in 2015 while delivering cargo to the space station. The following year, another rocket exploded during a ground test.
SpaceX’s Elon Musk said higher flight rates would make it easier to identify and fix problems.
