SpaceX has suffered a rare setback after a Falcon 9 overshoot error left a batch of Starlink satellites in a lower orbit than planned.
SpaceX Falcon 9 suffers catastrophic engine failure in flight
The mission was to launch 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capability. The launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on July 11, 1935 Pacific Time (0235 UTC July 12) appeared to go well, with the first stage of the Falcon 9 making a successful landing on a drone ship.
However, something seemed wrong with the upper stage. Spectators including this reporter saw an unusual build-up of what appeared to be ice around the Merlin engine during the first burn of the scene. A planned engine restart to raise perigee prior to deployment of the Starlink satellites "resulted in an engine RUD for currently unknown reasons," according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. "RUD" stands for Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly.
Neither SpaceX nor Musk have commented on the ice seen around the engine.
