This image from a video provided by SpaceX shows the upper stage engine of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which blasted off from California on Thursday.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX rocket failed for the first time in nearly a decade, leaving the company’s Internet satellites in low enough orbit that they could fall into the atmosphere and burn up.
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California on Thursday night carrying 20 Starlink satellites. A few minutes after take off, the upper engine failed. SpaceX on Friday blamed a liquid oxygen leak.
The company said flight controllers were able to communicate with half of the satellites and try to lift them into higher orbits using internal ion thrusters. But with the low end of their orbit only 84 miles (135 kilometers) from Earth — less than half of what was intended — “our maximum thrust may not be sufficient to successfully lift the satellites,” the company said via X.
SpaceX said the satellites will re-enter the atmosphere and burn up. No mention of when they will land. More than 6,000 orbiting Starlinks currently provide Internet service to customers in the most remote corners of the world.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the problem must be fixed before the Falcon rockets can fly again.
It’s unclear how the crash will affect SpaceX’s future crewed flights. A billionaire spacewalk is planned for July 31 with plans for the first private spacewalk from Florida, followed by an astronaut flight to the International Space Station for NASA in mid-August.
Jared Isaacman, the tech entrepreneur who piloted the private jet, said Friday that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 had an “incredible track record” and an emergency escape system.
Last year in 2015, the rocket failed during the space station cargo run. The next year another rocket exploded during a ground test.
SpaceX’s Elon Musk said a higher flight rate would make it easier to spot and fix a problem.
