SpaceX launches Falcon 9 again after launch failure, sensors investigated – IT – News

SpaceX will launch another Falcon 9 rocket on Saturday, the first time the rocket has flown since a failed launch earlier this month. The company says it will replace the troublesome sensor on the new Starlink flight.

SpaceX He says It will have another launch on Saturday, July 27. That’s what matters. SL-10-9, mission to launch 23 Starlink satellites From Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It’s the 17th flight of the rocket’s first stage, which must land back on a SpaceX spacecraft.

The Starlink launch is the first since July 11. Then, a Falcon 9 launch failed; the second-stage ignition failed, preventing the Starlink satellites from being placed in a usable orbit. It was the first failed Falcon 9 launch since 2015, and the first of 335 consecutive launches that went wrong.

That’s a rare success for the rocket, but the time it now takes SpaceX to get Falcon ready to fly again is also very short. In the past, investigations into launch failures have taken months and sometimes years.

SpaceX Writes in the update It has identified a problem with the rocket. It is the “most likely cause” of the failure. This will be located near a cable from a pressure sensor connected to the rocket’s oxygen system. Due to the vibrations of the rocket, there is likely a crack through which liquid oxygen could leak through the engine’s insulation. The leak caused the engine to cool down too much, causing it to run too fast and parts of the engine to burn up. SpaceX says it will remove the sensor and the sensor cable from the rocket on a later launch. According to the company, the function of this sensor could also be picked up by other sensors.

It’s not just SpaceX that says so. The US Federal Aviation Administration, which oversaw the mandatory review, also approved the rocket. Federal Aviation Administration He says in a statement to TechCrunch, The investigation is ongoing, but based on SpaceX’s findings, it concluded that there was no risk to the public during the launch. “This means that Falcon 9 may fly again while the public investigation is ongoing, as long as all other licensing requirements are met.”