US aviation authority allows launches of “Falcon 9” again

After a launch ban of several days for the “Falcon 9” rocket of the private space company SpaceX, the US aviation authority FAA has again given the green light for the launch vehicle to operate. After a SpaceX rocket stage caught fire, the FAA had initially suspended launches of the affected “Falcon 9” rocket. The investigation into the incident will continue, the authority said.

On Wednesday, the tried-and-tested “Falcon 9” launched a series of satellites for the Starlink internet program into space. The launch was successful, but after landing, a rocket stage tipped over on a ship in the Atlantic and burst into flames. Another Starlink launch was postponed “to give the team time to review the booster landing data from the original launch. “A new planned launch date will be announced as soon as it is available,” SpaceX said.

A longer FAA ban on the rockets would potentially have affected several upcoming space missions, including “Polaris Dawn.” This project will see four astronauts travel up to 1,400 kilometers from Earth for several days – including a spacewalk.

Back in July, the FAA suspended all launches of Falcon 9 rockets for two weeks because of problems with the ignition of the second propulsion stage. The launch vehicle has been a huge success for SpaceX for more than ten years. It has reusable rocket stages, which has reduced costs, and it carries people and payloads into space.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:240831-930-218470/1