A household name when it comes to record reusability, the SpaceX Falcon 9 had an uncommon accident post its most recent Starlink satellite launch last August 28, 2024. The liftoff was successful from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 3:48 a.m. EDT, carrying 21 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit. This was the 23rd time a first-stage booster has flown on a Falcon 9, breaking prior records for reusability with SpaceX.
However, shortly after completing its mission, the booster failed to land as planned. About 8.5 minutes into the flight, the first stage touched down on the SpaceX drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” in the Atlantic Ocean but unexpectedly tipped over and caught fire. Video from the landing showed flames coming from the base of the rocket, which is why it fell. This incident marked the first failure in 267 launches of Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy boosters to return safely to Earth—testament to SpaceX’s otherwise remarkable reliability in rocket recovery.
Despite the mishap, SpaceX had anticipated the occasional loss of boosters during landings, making their previous long run of successes particularly noteworthy. The now-toppled booster, B1062, had completed 23 missions, with 16 dedicated to Starlink. Its impressive history also included two historic crewed missions: Inspiration4, the first orbital flight without professional astronauts, and Ax-1, the first all-private astronaut trip to the International Space Station.
SpaceX has yet to declare the booster entirely lost, stating that teams are assessing its flight data. Meanwhile, Sian Procter, a pilot from the Inspiration4 mission, acknowledged the booster’s service in a heartfelt post, mourning its apparent end.
Meanwhile, another planned Starlink mission was delayed due to this event, with SpaceX redirecting its focus to investigating the landing failure. The upcoming Polaris Dawn mission, initially slated for the same day, was also postponed due to weather conditions, with no rescheduled date announced yet.