AUSTIN, Texas — A recent incident involving a Falcon 9 booster has raised significant reliability concerns for SpaceX. On March 2, the Falcon 9 lifted off at 9:24 p.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, successfully carrying 21 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch was broadcasted live, showcasing the booster landing on its droneship, Just Read the Instructions, approximately 8 minutes and 15 seconds post-liftoff. While the deployment of the Starlink satellites was reported as successful, the situation took a turn when the company announced the loss of the booster, designated B1086, shortly after landing.
In a statement released early on March 3, SpaceX explained, “Following the successful landing, an off-nominal fire in the aft end of the rocket damaged one of the booster’s landing legs which resulted in it tipping over.” The company acknowledged the disappointment of losing a rocket after a successful mission, emphasizing that the data gathered from this incident will be used to enhance the reliability of the Falcon 9 during both ascent and landing phases. Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX’s vice president of launch, remarked, “Every failure is an opportunity to learn. This setback will not only improve the reliability of Falcon 9 but also of all vehicles at SpaceX.”
This incident marked only the fifth flight of booster B1086, which is a modest number compared to the current record of 26 flights by a Falcon 9 booster. Initially constructed as a side booster for Falcon Heavy, it was previously utilized in the June 2024 launch of the GOES-U weather satellite. After its conversion into a Falcon 9 booster, B1086 successfully launched two Starlink missions and another mission carrying Maxar’s WorldView Legion satellites before this recent flight.
The landing failure of B1086 is the latest in a series of challenges faced by the Falcon 9, which has established itself as a workhorse for SpaceX and the broader space industry. In August 2024, another Falcon 9 booster crashed during a droneship landing, temporarily halting launches. Additionally, there have been multiple incidents involving Falcon 9 upper stages, including a significant event in July 2024, when the loss of a payload of Starlink satellites prompted a two-week suspension of Falcon 9 launches. Two other Falcon 9 flights encountered issues during their deorbit burns post-payload deployment, leading to further delays in launch schedules.
In a recent briefing on February 26, just hours before a successful Falcon 9 launch of the IM-2 lunar lander for Intuitive Machines, Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX's vice president for build and flight reliability, discussed an investigation into a potential manufacturing defect in the nozzle of the Merlin engine used in the Falcon 9 upper stage. He noted, “We saw potentially a manufacturing defect that could have showed up in the nozzle,” and reassured that the issue was isolated to one nozzle, confirmed through thorough checks of manufacturing and testing records.
Meanwhile, ongoing issues with the Falcon 9 have resulted in delays for a NASA mission carrying the SPHEREx astronomy spacecraft and four PUNCH space science satellites. Initially scheduled for launch on February 27, the mission has now been postponed to no earlier than March 4, with NASA citing the need for “additional time to evaluate launch vehicle hardware data” as a reason for the delay. Although NASA had planned a prelaunch briefing for March 3, the agency announced that this would not occur as originally scheduled, stating, “The agency will share more information as soon as possible.” As of the early afternoon on March 3, NASA has not provided further updates or confirmed whether the launch will proceed as planned on March 4.
