A SpaceX rocket had its first failure in almost ten years. It launched from California carrying 20 Starlink satellites but ran into trouble when its upper-stage engine had a problem a few minutes after liftoff. SpaceX said there was a leak in the liquid oxygen.
The company managed to contact half of the satellites and tried to use their ion thrusters to raise them higher in orbit. However, they couldn't reach the intended orbit height of about 84 miles above Earth. This means the satellites will eventually fall back into the atmosphere and burn up. SpaceX didn't specify when this might happen. Currently, more than 6,000 Starlink satellites provide internet service to remote areas worldwide.
The Federal Aviation Administration said SpaceX needs to fix the problem before they can relaunch Falcon rockets.
It's uncertain how this incident might affect SpaceX's upcoming crew flights. A private spaceflight by a billionaire is planned for July 31 from Florida, followed by an astronaut mission to the International Space Station in mid-August.
Jared Isaacman, who leads the private flight, mentioned that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has a good safety record and emergency escape systems.
The last time SpaceX had a launch failure was in 2015 during a mission to the space station. Another incident happened in 2016 during ground testing.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, said the frequent launches will help them find and fix any issues more easily.
