A SpaceX rocket failed, for the first time in nearly a decade, leaving the company’s Internet satellites in an orbit so low that they are expected to fall into the atmosphere and burn up.
The Falcon 9 rocket launched from California on Thursday evening carrying 20 Starlink satellites, but after several minutes the upper stage engine malfunctioned. SpaceX blamed a liquid oxygen leak.
The company said: ‘Flight controllers were able to contact half of the satellites and tried to push them into a higher orbit using the ion propulsion devices on board, but the attempt was not successful as their orbit was lowered to an altitude of only 135 kilometers above the Earth – that is, less than half the target altitude.’
The company added on the ‘X’ website: ‘It is unlikely that the maximum available to us will be sufficient to successfully lift satellites.’
It indicated that the satellites would return to the atmosphere and burn up, and did not mention the date of their return.
It is not clear whether the accident w
ill affect upcoming SpaceX crew flights or not.
More than six thousand Starlink satellites currently in space provide Internet service to customers in some of the most remote areas of the world.
Another launch failure occurred in 2015 during a space station charging operation, and another rocket exploded the following year while being tested on Earth.
Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, said that the high flight rate will make it easier to identify and correct the problem.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency