SpaceX's Falcon 9 Suffers Unusual Malfunction, 20 Starlink Satellites Deployed into Lower Orbit

Vandenberg Space Force Base, California United States of America
Anomaly caused deployment of 20 Starlink satellites into lower than intended orbit.
Elon Musk doubts Starlink satellites can be raised to intended orbit using onboard ion thrusters.
Incident occurred during Starlink satellites launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Preliminary findings suggest electric propulsion system unable to counteract high atmospheric drag in very low orbit.
SpaceX and FAA investigating cause of failure. Falcon 9 grounded indefinitely.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 suffered an unexpected malfunction during second-stage booster's second burn on July 11, 2024.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 Suffers Unusual Malfunction, 20 Starlink Satellites Deployed into Lower Orbit

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, a workhorse in the space industry with over 350 successful launches since its debut in 2010, suffered an unexpected malfunction during the second-stage booster's second burn on July 11, 2024. The incident occurred during the launch of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The anomaly caused the satellites to be deployed into a lower than intended orbit.

According to reports, both SpaceX and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating the cause of this failure. Preliminary findings suggest that an electric propulsion system on the spacecraft was unable to counteract high atmospheric drag in the very low orbit, leaving 20 Starlink satellites stranded.

Despite this setback, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk expressed doubt that the Starlink satellites could be raised to their intended orbit using their onboard ion thrusters. The FAA has grounded Falcon 9 for an indefinite period while SpaceX investigates and determines necessary upper stage modifications.

This incident marks a rare failure for SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which has been instrumental in launching numerous Starlink missions, crewed flights for NASA and the International Space Station (ISS), as well as private spacewalks. The company's Elon Musk remains optimistic about the future of their Falcon 9 program.

The loss of these satellites will not pose a threat to other satellites in orbit or public safety, as they are expected to break up completely upon re-entry. However, this incident may impact upcoming SpaceX missions such as crewed flights and ISS resupply missions scheduled for July 31 from Florida and mid-August.


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Confidence

85%

Doubts
  • Preliminary findings suggest only one possible cause for the malfunction, but further investigation is needed.
  • The impact on upcoming SpaceX missions is not fully understood.

Sources

92%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

SpaceX rocket accident leaves company's Starlink satellites in wrong orbit

NASA Perseverance Mars Rover News Site Powered by Phys.org Marcia Dunn Sunday, 14 July 2024 03:30
  • Unique Points
    • SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket malfunctioned during launch on July 11, 2024
    • Half of the Starlink satellites have been contacted by flight controllers
  • Accuracy
    • The upper stage engine of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket experienced a liquid oxygen leak
    • The low orbit of the affected Starlink satellites is only 84 miles (135 kilometers) above Earth, less than half intended
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

98%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

Falcon 9 program grounded as FCC, SpaceX investigate launch failure

United Press International (UPI) Saturday, 13 July 2024 21:32
  • Unique Points
    • SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket experienced a malfunction during the second-stage booster’s second burn, causing the satellites to be deployed into a lower than desired orbit.
    • ,
  • Accuracy
    • The issue occurred during the second-stage booster’s second burn, causing the satellites to be deployed into a lower than desired orbit.
    • Half of the Starlink satellites have been contacted by flight controllers
    • SpaceX is attempting to bring 10 of the 20 affected satellites up to target orbit using their ion thrusters.
    • The remaining satellites will likely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, and are designed to disintegrate on reentry, posing no risk to people or property on the ground.
    • SpaceX is expected to provide a detailed report on the launch failure within a week.
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

93%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

FAA investigating SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket failure

Space.com Mike Wall Friday, 12 July 2024 16:59
  • Unique Points
    • SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk expressed doubt that the Starlink satellites could be raised to their intended orbit using their onboard ion thrusters.
  • Accuracy
    • The upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket suffered an anomaly during the second burn, causing the satellites to be deployed into a lower-than-intended orbit.
    • Half of the Starlink satellites have been contacted by flight controllers.
    • SpaceX is looking into the nature and cause of the anomaly under FAA supervision.
    • The low orbit of the affected Starlink satellites is only 84 miles (135 kilometers) above Earth, less than half intended.
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (95%)
    The author makes several statements that are factual and do not contain any fallacies. However, there is an instance of an appeal to authority when the FAA's statement is quoted without any critique or evaluation by the author. This reduces the score slightly.
    • "The FAA will be involved in every step of the investigation process and must approve SpaceX's final report, including any corrective actions."
    • "A return to flight is based on the FAA determining that any system, process or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety."
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

83%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

SpaceX Falcon 9 suffers in-flight catastrophic engine failure

CBS News Site: https://www.cbsnews.com/articles/about-us/ CBS News Sunday, 14 July 2024 03:33
  • Unique Points
    • ] SpaceX's Falcon 9 experienced an in-flight engine failure [
  • Accuracy
    • SpaceX's Falcon 9 experienced an in-flight engine failure
    • The upper stage engine of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket experienced a liquid oxygen leak
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

87%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

Starlink satellites lost on Falcon 9 upper stage failure

Space News Site: https://spacenews.com/lunar-time-standard/ Jeff Foust Friday, 12 July 2024 22:50
  • Unique Points
    • SpaceX's Starlink Group 9-3 launch on July 11 experienced a Falcon 9 upper stage failure
    • The malfunction occurred due to an electric propulsion system unable to counteract high atmospheric drag in the very low orbit.
    • SpaceX stated that the 20 satellites will not pose a threat to other satellites in orbit or public safety as they break up completely upon re-entry.
    • The incident will ground Falcon 9, currently the most active launch vehicle in service today, for an indefinite period while SpaceX investigates and determines necessary upper stage modifications.
  • Accuracy
    • Half of the Starlink satellites have been contacted by flight controllers.
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (85%)
    The article contains an appeal to authority and a slight exaggeration in describing the failure as a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly', which is a technical term but not accurately descriptive of the event. The rest of the article is well-reported without fallacies.
    • ][The company added that the satellites “do not pose a threat to other satellites in orbit or to public safety” given their very low orbits and a design that is intended to break up completely on reentry.][Elon Musk posted a few hours after the anomaly that satellite controllers were trying to fire the spacecraft’s electric thrusters at maximum levels to overcome atmospheric drag. “We’re updating satellite software to run the ion thrusters at their equivalent of warp 9,” he stated. “Unlike a Star Trek episode, this will probably not work, but it’s worth a shot.”][The incident will ground the rocket, the most active launch vehicle in service today, for an indefinite period while SpaceX investigates the root cause and determines what it must make to the upper stage.]
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication