updates
Falcon 9 upper-stage leak and Starlink loss
On July 25, 2024, SpaceX said a July 11 upper-stage oxygen leak left 20 Starlink satellites in a 135 km perigee, and that all of them reentered.
Topics: space-civilization
This page is an original Muskularity summary. It does not republish SpaceX’s full post. Figures are the company’s statements on the cited date unless another primary link is named.
Summary
SpaceX told the FAA what it had found after the July 11, 2024 Falcon 9 anomaly. The first stage flew a normal ascent, separation, and droneship landing. During the second stage’s first burn, liquid oxygen leaked inside the insulation around the upper-stage engine. The cause SpaceX identified is a cracked sense line for an oxygen pressure sensor. Fatigue came from engine vibration and a loose clamp.
The stage still finished the first burn and coasted in the planned elliptical parking orbit. The second burn, meant to circularize before deployment, hard-started because the leak had over-cooled the ignition-fluid hardware. The engine was damaged and the stage lost attitude control. It still deployed the Starlink satellites and passivated. Controllers reached 10 of the satellites and tried to raise them. Perigee was about 135 kilometers. All 20 satellites from the launch reentered. SpaceX said they are designed to demise and that no debris had been reported.
The near-term fix: remove that sense line and sensor. SpaceX said flight safety does not use the sensor and other sensors already cover it. The change was tested at McGregor with FAA oversight. Other sense lines and clamps on the active booster fleet were inspected, and some were replaced. The post presents this as the path back to flight, not as a date.
Key facts
| Fact | Label |
|---|---|
| Anomaly date July 11, 2024; booster landed | Company mishap report |
| Cracked oxygen sense line from vibration and a loose clamp | Company probable cause |
| 20 Starlink satellites deployed into about a 135 km perigee and all reentered | Company mission result |
| Sense line removed for near-term flights after McGregor testing | Company corrective action |
Why it matters
Falcon is the operational launcher under Starlink and crew flights while Starship is still in test. This is the rare Falcon upper-stage loss in the archive, and it shows the satellite design assumption SpaceX also used after the 2022 geomagnetic storm: a failed low deployment should reenter rather than linger.
On this site
Sources
- SpaceX update, July 25, 2024 — Grade A, company mishap report
- SpaceX mission page linked from the post — Grade A, company mission page
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