SpaceX's Falcon 9 To Launch Again On Monday For ESA's Hera Mission: FAA Reportedly Says It's A One-Time Approval

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is looking forward to launching the European Space Agency’s Hera mission to orbit on Monday aboard its Falcon 9 after the launch vehicle was grounded late last month.

What Happened: “Targeting Monday, October 7 for Falcon 9's launch of the ESA Hera mission to orbit from Florida,” SpaceX announced in a post on social media platform X. The mission is expected to liftoff at 10:52 a.m. ET. 

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 was grounded late last month after the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket that launched the Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on September 28 didn't land back to Earth as intended.

"We will resume launching after we better understand root cause," the company said in an X post then. The FAA also said that it requires an investigation.

However, Reuters reported on Sunday that the FAA allowed for the Falcon 9 to return to flight solely for the Hera mission. The Mission is expected to provide data for future asteroid deflection missions.

Neither the FAA nor SpaceX immediately responded to Benzinga’s request for comment.

Why It Matters: The Falcon 9 is SpaceX's workhorse. In the first half of 2024, the company completed 67 missions using its Falcon vehicles. The Falcon 9 alone accounted for 66 launches in the half.

This is the third time in a few months that Falcon 9 has faced an issue. In late August, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the Falcon after a rocket booster that supported a Starlink mission failed to land upright on a droneship at sea and exploded upon returning to Earth. However, the FAA gave the green light for the company to resume launch operations two days later.

In July, however, SpaceX halted launch operations for two weeks 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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Photo courtesy: SpaceX