Falcon 9 STRANDED! SpaceX Silently Losed Rocket in Orbit...FAA?

In the vastness of space, a Falcon 9 upper stage is drifting. It was supposed to fall back to Earth more than a week ago, but something went wrong. This is definitely strange. How can a system with over 300 successes suddenly malfunction? Does it have anything to do with the recent starship explosion? In today episode, let's find out about this. According to orbital tracking data, the upper stage of a Falcon 9 spacecraft has become lost in orbit. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that this was from the Falcon 9 spacecraft that launched on the first of this month. At 3.02 p.m. Pacific time, Falcon 9 successfully launched 22 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff as planned. Touching down in the Pacific Ocean on the SpaceX drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, it marked the 17th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SDA-0A, SARA-2, Transporter-11, and now 14 Starlink missions. The Falcon 9's upper stage, on the other hand, carried the 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit and successfully deployed them at their designated locations. It was then supposed to de-orbit burn to fall back into the Pacific Ocean. The problem is, it didn't. Instead, it seems to remain in orbit. The good news is that since the mission placed it in a relatively low orbit close to Earth, it won't be there for long and will soon re-enter the atmosphere. The bad news is that it's been over a week since launch, meaning its fuel or batteries are likely depleted. As a result, when it does fall, we won't have any way to control it, and worse, we won't even know where it will land. To predict where the Falcon 9 upper stage will fall, we need to know its orbital inclination. In spaceflight, inclination refers to the angle between a spacecraft's orbital plane and the equatorial plane of the planet it orbits. It essentially describes how tilted the orbit is relative to the equator, measured in degrees. A zero-degree inclination means the orbit directly aligns with the equator, while a 90-degree inclination indicates a polar orbit passing over the poles. The Falcon 9's inclination is about 53.2 degrees, so it could land anywhere between 53 degrees north and 53 degrees south of the Earth, which is basically almost anywhere on Earth. I know, not so helpful. So, after more than 300 successful Falcon 9 launches, why did such an incident suddenly happen? SpaceX has not yet said anything about why the upper stage did not perform as planned, or where the problem occurred. However, speculation can be made when looking at similar incidents that have occurred in the past. Yeah, you heard that right, although extremely rare, this isn't the first time the Falcon 9's upper stage has failed. Last September, SpaceX's upper stage faced an issue during its mission. The original plan is the deorbit burn is intended to safely dispose of the stage over an uninhabited area of the South Pacific Ocean. This ensures the stage doesn't remain in orbit, where it could contribute to the risk of orbital debris and prevents an uncontrolled re-entry. However, because of the malfunction, it did not fall to the intended point. SpaceX posted on X. After today's successful launch of Crew 9, Falcon 9's second stage was disposed in the ocean as planned, but experienced an off-nominal deorbit burn. As a result, the second stage safely landed in the ocean, but outside of the targeted area. We will resume launching after we better understand the root cause. Notably, less than three months before this incident, another problem with the Falcon 9 upper stage resulted in the loss of 20 of the company's Starlinks. During the Falcon 9 mission on July 11, the 20 satellites in the Group 9-3 launch were unable to achieve the desired orbital altitude due to the electric propulsion systems on the spacecraft being insufficient to overcome the intense atmospheric drag encountered at their extremely low orbits. The company reported that the rocket's upper stage engine experienced an anomaly and was unable to complete its second burn, which was intended to circularize the orbit before satellite deployment. Although the stage successfully deployed the satellites, they were left in an orbit with a perigee, lowest point, of just 135 kilometers. This placed them in what SpaceX described as an enormously high drag environment, causing the perigee to decrease by at least 5 kilometers per orbit. They said, At this level of drag, our maximum available thrust is unlikely to be enough to successfully raise the satellites. As such, the satellites will re-enter Earth's atmosphere and fully demise. The statement reveals that a liquid oxygen leak was detected in the second stage during the first burn of the single Merlin engine, which explains the unusual ice build-up observed on parts of the engine. A few hours after the anomaly, Elon Musk posted that satellite controllers were trying to fire the spacecraft's electric thrusters at maximum levels to overcome atmospheric drag. He wrote, 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. The company provided limited details regarding the anomaly that occurred during the planned one-second engine relight. While Musk described the incident as a RUD, Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly, SpaceX clarified in its statement that the stage remained intact and successfully deployed the satellites. Furthermore, the stage completed its post-mission passivation procedure, which safely depletes energy sources from the propellant tanks and batteries to prevent any potential disintegration. After these earlier incidents, SpaceX needed approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to resume launches either after completing a mishap investigation or receiving a public safety determination from the agency that the incident did not pose any risk to the general public. The FAA has not indicated any intention to require SpaceX to conduct an investigation into this incident. However, this remains uncertain, especially considering that Starship also experienced an upper-stage incident not long ago. You might recall the seventh flight of Starship, where the next-generation Starship Phi-2 encountered a propellant leak in its fuel section. This issue led to a loss of signal shortly after hot staging. Tragically, the leak caused the spacecraft to explode into a cloud of debris, which ultimately rained down over the Atlantic Ocean near the Turks and Caicos Islands. Following the accident, the FAA confirmed that it was opening a mishap investigation into the test. The Starship Flight 7 explosion created quite a bit of turmoil in the surrounding airspace, with the FAA having to divert flights in the area. The agency later confirmed that it was investigating reports of debris-induced damage, but so far only one report of minor damage to a car has surfaced. The explosion has also raised concerns about air pollution, prompting experts to debate its potential environmental impact. The rocket's upper stage, weighing roughly 85 tons without fuel, detonated at an altitude of about 146 kilometers. Fragments of the disintegrated spacecraft reportedly fell over the Caribbean. Preliminary estimates suggest the explosion may have released significant amounts of metal oxides and nitrogen oxides, pollutants that are harmful to Earth's ozone layer and atmospheric balance. Scientists are now assessing the extent of contamination left in the upper atmosphere following the incident. Fortunately, the Starship upper stage is constructed from stainless steel, unlike the aluminum used in many satellites and rocket upper stages. The incineration of aluminum during satellite re-entry raises significant concerns among scientists. When aluminum burns at high temperatures, it forms aluminum oxides, or alumina, a white powdery substance that can harm the ozone layer and alter the reflectivity of Earth's atmosphere. The FAA is collaborating with SpaceX to investigate the mishap that occurred during Starship Flight 7. While these investigations are generally a lengthy process, a filing by SpaceX with the Federal Communications Commission suggests the company may be ready to launch the next Starship as early as February 24. In anticipation of Flight 8, SpaceX is ramping up preparations for the vehicle that will participate in this flight. Starship Flight 8 will feature the launch of Booster 15 and Ship 34. Both vehicles have already had their main structures assembled and successfully completed cryogenic proof tests on their tanks. They are now back at the assembly site, where Raptor engines, flaps, and other final components are being installed. The cryogenic proof tests are crucial to ensuring the tanks can withstand the immense pressure required for flight. By using cryogenic nitrogen, these tests also simulate the extreme cold temperatures encountered when the vehicle is fueled with liquid oxygen and methane. Additionally, Ship 34 has been equipped with thrust simulators to further validate its structural integrity during launch conditions. There is also Test Tank 16, which is said to be used to address the failure points observed in the S-33, which is also undergoing a lot of work lately. Musk also states they will add more fire suppression systems to help mitigate future fires in the failure area. Meanwhile, SpaceX is also preparing for those more distant flights. S-35, the ship that will fly on Flight 9, is now fully stacked with its flaps being shipped in for installation. A new PEZ dispenser is also being built, but it looks like it won't be available until S-36. In Flight 8, SpaceX will aim to successfully accomplish the objectives they set out to achieve in Flight 7. This includes showcasing several new features of Starship Block 2, such as testing an upgraded propulsion system with enhanced capacity, evaluating the performance of the redesigned forward flaps during re-entry, and assessing the protective capabilities of the new metallic heat shield. And who knows if all goes well, they might even try catching Starship Veve 2 with Mechazilla for the first time. While SpaceX aims to reach the 25 launches anticipated to be approved by the FAA this year, it now seems that achieving this goal will require more than just a miracle. The challenge lies not only in securing approval, but also in the fact that meeting this goal would require launching every other week. But you know SpaceX, there's no sign that they're willing to accept this. If they want to achieve this impossible launch, Candace, they cannot afford to make any mistakes, no matter how small, whether it's Falcon or Starship. With new technologies, every component must be meticulously evaluated to ensure optimal data for development. With proven technologies, they must be even more careful not to let any unwanted incidents occur. As Kent Rominger, a former astronaut said in a meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, both NASA and SpaceX need to maintain focus on safe crew Dragon operations, and not take any normal operations for granted.