SpaceX Gears Up For Another Starlink Mission After FAA Greenlights Resumption Of Falcon 9 Launch Operations

Elon Musk‘s SpaceX is looking to launch several Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit on Saturday after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) greenlit the resumption of activities for its Falcon 9 rocket which was grounded earlier this week.

What Happened: The FAA said in a statement on Friday that the Falcon 9 vehicle may return to launch operations even as the investigation pertaining to the failed landing of a rocket booster during a recent Starlink mission continues.

The FAA grounded Falcon 9 on Wednesday after a rocket booster that supported a Starlink mission earlier in the day failed to land upright on a droneship at sea and exploded upon returning to Earth. The FAA subsequently demanded an investigation and said the return to flight of the Falcon 9 rocket would be based on the agency determining that the “anomaly” doesn't affect public safety. 

However, the agency said on Friday that SpaceX made a request to them to allow for the rocket to resume operations on Thursday and the FAA granted approval the next day provided that all other license requirements are met. The investigation, however, remains open.

SpaceX is now looking to launch 21 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Florida at 3:43 a.m. ET. The company is also planning on another Falcon 9 launch from California, it said on social media platform X.

Why It Matters: The recent pause in operations for the Falcon 9 is significantly shorter than the pause in July.

SpaceX halted launch operations for two weeks in July after an issue was identified with a Falcon 9 rocket's second-stage engine.

The issue was identified during a Starlink mission launch on July 11 and the company resumed launch operations on July 27 after completing an investigation and deploying necessary design changes.

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