spacetoday.net: Falcon 9 returns to flight

Posted: Sat, Jul 27, 2024, 12:26 PM ET (1626 GMT)
Falcon 9 return to flight launch July 2024 (SpaceX)

SpaceX successfully returned the Falcon 9 to flight early Saturday, 15 days after an upper stage anomaly. The Falcon 9 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 1:45 am EDT (0545 GMT) and placed 23 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch was the first since a launch late July 11 where the upper stage engine malfunctioned on a second burn, stranding a set of Starlink satellites in orbits too low for them to survive. SpaceX traced the problem to a crack in a sensor line that allowed liquid oxygen to leak, chilling other engine components and preventing the engine from properly reigniting for the second burn. SpaceX said that as a near-term fix that it will remove the sensor line, which is not needed for flight safety.