The Federal Aviation Administration has approved SpaceX to resume flights of its mainstay Falcon 9 rocket after a brief grounding, with Elon Musk's company planning to launch its next mission carrying satellites as soon as Saturday.
The FAA clearance came just 15 days after the rocket suffered a rare inflight failure while in orbit during a launch of Starlink satellites.
During the July 11 launch, the rocket's lower first stage, or booster — powered by nine engines — operated as expected before returning to land.
A loose clamp for that tube and the intense vibration of the rocket's engine led to cracking, the company said.
That cracked sense line resulted in a leak of liquid oxygen, causing damage to the rocket's engine when it attempted to restart in space.
Persons:
Elon
Organizations:
Federal Aviation Administration, SpaceX, Falcon, FAA, CNBC