Joey Roulette
Feb 3 (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s SpaceX said it had suspended flights of its main Falcon 9 rocket due to problems with the second stage after successfully launching a Starlink satellite into orbit on Monday. After the two-stage Falcon 9 launched 25 Starlink satellites into space on a routine mission from Southern California, the rocket’s second stage “experienced unusual conditions” as it prepared to deorbit as planned, SpaceX wrote on SpaceX said: “Teams are reviewing the data to determine the root cause and take corrective actions before returning to flight.” The Falcon 9 is the world’s most active rocket – it launched 165 times in 2025, most of which were missions within SpaceX and aimed at expanding its Starlink constellation. A mission failure in 2024 caused a batch of Starlink satellites to crash, the first such failure of a SpaceX rocket since 2016. Monday’s mission was not a mission failure. But problems with the rocket’s second stage, if left unchecked, could jeopardize future attempts to put satellites into orbit, or potentially jeopardize densely populated areas if the launch vehicle fails to properly handle itself. The main body of Falcon 9’s second stage is designed to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere after delivering a payload into orbit, using its engines to target a re-entry zone away from populated areas if any components survive deorbit. SpaceX has not indicated how long the accident investigation will take. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees rocket launches and their impact on public safety, is on leave during the shutdown and did not respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
