SpaceX is set to resume its operations with a Falcon 9 rocket on Monday evening after a booster caught fire and exploded following a landing. The incident occurred during the launch of the Starlink 12-20 mission, which was carried out over a week ago. SpaceX’s vice president of Build and Flight Reliability, Bill Gerstenmaier, explained that a fuel leak in one of the rocket’s engines caused the fire.
Gerstenmaier stated that the leak occurred about 85 seconds into the launch, but it did not catch fire during ascent due to a lack of oxygen. However, after landing on a drone ship, there was enough oxygen available for the fire to break out, causing damage to the engine compartment. Fortunately, the fire was contained within the engine compartment and did not affect the rest of the rocket.
The incident has led to an investigation by NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA initially grounded the Falcon 9 fleet but later approved its return to operational flights on March 4. SpaceX is now set to launch two missions, one in California and the other in Florida.
In addition to the Starlink incident, Gerstenmaier also discussed an issue with another Falcon 9 mission that occurred earlier this month. A small oxygen leak caused a thrust vector control line to freeze, resulting in a loss of attitude control on the second stage. However, SpaceX has since added additional checks and tightened its abort limits to prevent similar incidents.
The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of thorough testing and inspection before launching a rocket into space. Despite the setback, SpaceX remains committed to ensuring the success of its missions and is working tirelessly to resolve any outstanding concerns.
Source: https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/03/10/spacex-details-falcon-9-anomaly-that-temporarily-grounded-the-rocket-fleet