SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites, but rocket's first stage crashes on landing barge

SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites, but rocket’s first stage crashes on landing barge

August 28, 2024 Benjamin Hughes

After standing down from the piloted Polaris Dawn launch late Tuesday, SpaceX shifted gears and pressed ahead with plans for back-to-back launches of Starlink internet satellites early Wednesday, one from Florida and the other from California.

But the second flight was called off after the first stage used in the Florida launch toppled into the Atlantic Ocean and broke apart while attempting to land on a SpaceX droneship stationed several hundred miles northeast of Cape Canaveral. The landing mishap ended a string of 267 successful booster recoveries dating back to February 2021.

The Falcon 9’s second stage, meanwhile, successfully carried 21 Starlink satellites to their planned orbit.

A time exposure captures the fiery trail of a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Florida early Wednesday carrying 21 Starlink internet satellites. From this perspective, the rocket appears to arch over the moon and, on the horizon, launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center where another Falcon 9 stands ready for launch to boost the Polaris Dawn crew into space on a privately chartered mission featuring the first non-government spacewalk. The Starlink flight was cleared for launch after Polaris Dawn was grounded by expected bad weather in the crew’s splashdown zone.

Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now

The first stage landing appeared normal until the moment of touchdown when more flames than usual were visible around the base of the rocket as it neared the deck. A landing leg immediately collapsed on touchdown and the booster, obscured by fire and smoke, tipped over the side of the landing barge into the Atlantic.

William Harwood

Bill Harwood has been covering the U.S. space program full-time since 1984, first as Cape Canaveral bureau chief for United Press International and now as a consultant for CBS News.

Source: cbsnews.com