FAA had grounded Falcon 9 after second stage malfunctioned

7/10/2024 5:45

        SpaceX's workhorse Falcon
        9 rocket can return to flight for a mission planned for Monday
        to launch the European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft from
        Florida, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on
        Sunday.
        
        Elon Musk's company, which has engaged in a public quarrel
        with the FAA in recent weeks, said on Sunday it is planning the
        liftoff for 10:52 a.m. ET (1452 GMT) from Cape Canaveral.
        
        "The SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle is authorized to return to
        flight only for the planned Hera mission scheduled to launch on
        Oct. 7 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida," the
        FAA said on Sunday.
        
        The agency said it has "determined that the absence of a
        second stage reentry for this mission adequately mitigates the
        primary risk to the public in the event of a reoccurrence of the
        mishap experienced with the Crew-9 mission."
        
        The FAA on Sept. 30 said SpaceX must investigate why the
        second stage of its Falcon 9 malfunctioned after a NASA
        astronaut mission, grounding the launch vehicle for the third
        time in three months. The malfunction caused the booster to fall
        into a region of the Pacific Ocean outside of the designated
        safety zone that the FAA approved for the mission.
        Hera is set to study the effects of the 2022 impact that NASA's
        DART spacecraft had with the asteroid Dimorphos in a test of a
        planetary defense system - the first time a spacecraft managed
        to alter the motion of any celestial body. Dimorphos is a
        moonlet of Didymos, which is defined as a near-Earth asteroid.
        
        The Hera mission is expected to provide data for future
        asteroid deflection missions with an eye toward redirecting
        objects that could pose a future collision threat for Earth.
        
        Falcon 9 launched DART in 2021.
        The FAA on Sept. 17 proposed fining SpaceX $633,000 for
        violating agency rules ahead of two 2023 Falcon 9 launches.
        "They've been around 20 years, and I think they need to operate
        at the highest level of safety," FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker
        said on Sept. 24.
        
        SpaceX took issue with Whitaker's comments, saying the
        company is the "safest, most reliable launch provider in the
        world, and is absolutely committed to safety in all operations."
        
        Whitaker defended the FAA's decision to delay a planned
        September Starship 5 launch, noting that SpaceX failed to
        complete a timely sonic boom analysis as required. The FAA has
        said it does not expect a license determination before late
        November for that launch.
        
        Musk has criticized FAA leaders over the agency's proposed
        fine and called for Whitaker's resignation.
        In February 2023, the FAA proposed a $175,000 penalty against
        SpaceX for failing to submit some safety data to the agency
        prior to an August 2022 launch of Starlink satellites. The
        company paid that penalty.