SpaceX Breaks Silence After Engine Destruction & Reveals Reason Behind Accident
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After an anomaly led to an engine RUD during its latest Falcon 9 launch, SpaceX has shared that it managed to successfully 'safe' the second stage. The Falcon 9 second stage's Merlin 1D engine experienced a RUD (Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly) or was destroyed in space after it failed to start a burn to raise the rocket's orbit. In a statement earlier today, SpaceX shared that a leak in the Falcon 9 second stage's liquid oxygen tank caused the accident and outlined that the second stage managed to "passivate" itself based on the parameters at the end of every mission.
SpaceX Stresses Falcon 9 Second Stage Was Disposed Off Normally Following Engine RUD
The Falcon 9's rare failure, seven years after its last accident, also comes at a time when SpaceX aimed to push the limit of its first stage boosters and launch manifest. Over the course of this year, company executives have stressed that they aim to fly at least 140 missions in 2024 - for a new record and an average of roughly three launches a week. However, as the Falcon 9 is now grounded pending an FAA investigation, it is unlikely that SpaceX will meet this goal despite having launched 70 missions to date to almost stay on track for its goal by the end of H1 2024.
Related Story SpaceX’s Rocket Engine Explodes In Space – Satellites Unlikely To Survive Says Musk
As opposed to Musk's comments made soon after the anomaly, which shared that the Falcon 9's second stage engine had experienced a RUD, SpaceX's statement is benign. In it, the firm shares that while the second stage's Merlin vacuum engine successfully lit up after stage separation, during the second burn to raise the rocket's orbit, it "experienced an anomaly and was unable to complete" the burn.
The next bit goes on to highlight that while the second stage "survived" and was able to deploy the satellite, but it remains
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