NASA will perform its own reauthorization of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 before the rocket launches its next astronaut or cargo mission, the agency confirmed on Wednesday (July 17).
Falcon 9 there was a rare failure during engine burnout SpaceX the rocket’s second stage due to an oxygen leak during launch on Thursday (July 11). A mandatory accident investigation is underway. However, SpaceX asked the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday (July 15) to allow future launches under a “public safety determination,” meaning the launch poses no risk to public safety.
SpaceX’s Short Term Launch Manifesto is NASAis next International Space Station astronaut rotation. Called Crew-9, it is scheduled to send four astronauts to the ISS as early as mid-August. But NASA program manager Dana Weigel said the agency would have “its own process that is outside of what the FAA does,” even if the administration rules in favor of SpaceX’s request.
“The FAA needs to finish its job and allow SpaceX to launch [first],” she told Space.com in a live ISS briefing on Wednesday (July 17). Although he notes that there are differences in how the Falcon 9 is configured for satellites and for humans, NASA will still “take a close look” regardless of the FAA.
Weigel added that supplies of food, water and other supplies to the ISS “are in good shape” for about the next four months. Another major cargo carrier, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, also uses the Falcon 9 and is expected to lift off on August 3. That launch should bring hardware to deal with the ISS’s ailing urine processor, Weigel said. “I’m tracking critical components that I’d like to get on board fairly soon,” she noted.
In an emailed statement, a NASA public affairs official told Space.com that SpaceX is working with the agency to reauthorize the Falcon 9 for ISS flights. “Crew safety and mission assurance are top priorities for NASA. “SpaceX has informed the agency as it works closely with the Federal Aviation Administration during the investigation, including the implementation of any corrective actions necessary before future agency missions,” the statement said.
“NASA and its partners will also put in place the standard Flight Readiness Review process to ensure we carry out our crew missions as safely as possible.”
Connected: SpaceX wants to resume Falcon 9 rocket launches until the FAA completes its investigation
SpaceX sent eight crews of NASA-led astronauts to the ISS, along with three short-duration missions to Axiom Cosmos. They all ride on board Crew Dragonwhich uses a human-evaluated variant of the Falcon 9.
The Falcon 9 is the world’s most popular launch vehicle and has failed only twice in 366 launches over 14 years, according to SpaceX data. It also launched cargo missions to the ISS, satellites for NASA and the nation’s military, and numerous other missions.
SpaceX emphasized that it is working closely with NASA through the investigation. “I’m grateful that we have this framework to work through when you experience events like this,” Sarah Walker, SpaceX’s director of Dragon mission management, said at the same press conference. “This is our company’s top priority right now,” she added.
The process with NASA is “not only to understand the specific cause of the observed problem, but also the right actions to prevent it in the future [and] how it might relate to any other system,” she added.
SpaceX’s short-term launch commitments include bringing the private Polar dawn crew in space aboard Falcon 9; this mission, paid for by billionaire Jared Isaacman, is scheduled to fly on July 31. Walker said it was too early to predict the schedule as it stands, but promised SpaceX would share information “if there is any impact on near-term launch dates.”
“We know,” she added, “how to go through the stages of this process. It’s a joint board of inquiry … between our government customers and the FAA and SpaceX chief engineers, so there’s more to come.”
