SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket suffered a rare engine failure on Thursday night during a Starlink mission to deploy satellites in low Earth orbit. This was the first mid-flight incident with the Falcon 9 rocket since June 2015. 

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California around 2235 ET, carrying 20 Starlink satellites, 13 of which are the new direct-to-cell satellites. 

SpaceX wrote on X that “the second stage engine” of the Falcon 9 rocket “did not complete its second burn.” 

“As a result, the Starlink satellites were deployed into a lower than intended orbit,” Elon Musk’s space company said, adding, “SpaceX has made contact with 5 of the satellites so far and is attempting to have them raise orbit using their ion thrusters.” 

During tonight’s Falcon 9 launch of Starlink, the second stage engine did not complete its second burn. As a result, the Starlink satellites were deployed into a lower than intended orbit.

SpaceX has made contact with 5 of the satellites so far and is attempting to have them…

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 12, 2024

Musk chimed in shortly after, “We’re updating satellite software to run the ion thrusters at their equivalent of warp 9. Unlike a Star Trek episode, this will probably not work, but it’s worth a shot. The satellite thrusters need to raise orbit faster than atmospheric drag pulls them down or they burn up.” 

We’re updating satellite software to run the ion thrusters at their equivalent of warp 9.

Unlike a Star Trek episode, this will probably not work, but it’s worth a shot.

The satellite thrusters need to raise orbit faster than atmospheric drag pulls them down or they burn up.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2024

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Falcon 9 is grounded until it signs off on a SpaceX investigation of the incident. 

It’s important to note that this was the 354th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket. The last in-flight failure occurred in June 2015. 

Since then, SpaceX has been leading the world’s rocket race, which has been great news for America’s rocket program. 

Using data from BryceTech, SpaceX launched 525 spacecraft into orbit in the first quarter, far outpacing China and Russia. 

Musk is America’s rocket program: SpaceX launched about 429,125 kg of spacecraft upmass in the first quarter, significantly outpacing China’s rocket program (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation), which launched a measly 29,426 kg. 

On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration said SpaceX has proposed increasing its massive Starship mega-rocket launches to 25 times a year from the Starbase facility in Texas. 

Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin, has attempted to impede SpaceX’s launch progress through lawfare. 

Some wonder if SpaceX’s Dragon capsule will have to rescue the two stranded astronauts on the International Space Station after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft encountered a series of technical issues.