Return to Flight for SpaceX Falcon 9, Starliner Return Date Still In Question
Top Stories from The Journal of Space Commerce for the Week Ending July 26
SpaceX was cleared for a return to flight by the FAA this week, while NASA and Boeing have still not cleared Starliner for a return to Earth.
SpaceX submitted its mishap report to the FAA regarding Falcon 9’s launch anomaly on July 11, 2024. SpaceX’s investigation team, with oversight from the FAA, was able to identify the most probable cause of the mishap and associated corrective actions to ensure the success of future missions. The FAA has cleared Falcon 9 for a return to flight.
The second stage anomaly on the July 11 flight was traced to a liquid oxygen leak developed within the insulation around the upper stage engine. The cause of the leak was identified as a crack in a sense line for a pressure sensor attached to the vehicle’s oxygen system. This line cracked due to fatigue caused by high loading from engine vibration and looseness in the clamp that normally constrains the line.
SpaceX has taken corrective action, and the FAA said that there was no threat to public safety, clearing the way for the company to resume its launch schedule.
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Meanwhile, NASA and Boeing leadership provided an update on Starliner’s Crew Flight Test during a news conference Thursday. The integrated Starliner team continues to assess the spacecraft’s propulsion system performance and complete other tasks before scheduling its undocking from the International Space Station and returning to Earth.
Engineering teams from NASA and Boeing recently wrapped up ground hot fire testing of a Starliner reaction control system thruster at the agency’s White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. Engineering teams from NASA and Boeing recently wrapped up ground hot fire testing of a Starliner reaction control system thruster at the agency’s White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico.
NASA plans to hold an agency-level readiness review no earlier than next week. Following the review, mission leadership will finalize the plan for a normal return to Earth and select a targeted undocking date for Starliner.
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The landing region for the sold-out Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission has been finalized.
The IM-2 mission is designed to prospect for water ice and other volatiles on the Moon’s south pole, which requires a landing site that supports the high probability of ice stability within one meter of the lunar surface. Working with NASA, Intuitive Machines selected a 200-meter diameter elliptical region on the Shackleton Connecting Ridge with favorable terrain, Earth communications position, and solar angles for power generation. To align with the landing site’s solar power conditions, the mission must be timed between November 2024 and January 2025, IM-2 is currently planned for late 2024.
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However, another lunar mission has been scrapped by NASA. The agency announced this week that Following a comprehensive internal review, NASA says it will discontinue development of its VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) project.
NASA stated cost increases, delays to the launch date, and the risks of future cost growth as the reasons to stand down on the mission. The rover was originally planned to launch in late 2023, but in 2022, NASA requested a launch delay to late 2024 to provide more time for preflight testing of the Astrobotic lander. Since that time, additional schedule and supply chain delays pushed VIPER's readiness date to September 2025, and independently its CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) launch aboard Astrobotic's Griffin lander also has been delayed to a similar time. Continuation of VIPER would result in an increased cost that threatens cancellation or disruption to other CLPS missions. NASA has notified Congress of the agency's intent.
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In a different take on servicing satellites on-orbit, a $12.25 million seed round has been closed by space-based energy generation company Star Catcher Industries. The company will use the funding to continue to develop technology it says will help eliminate power constraints on space operations through the construction of its Star Catcher Network, a space-based energy grid.
Once constructed, the Star Catcher Network will be able to beam significant levels of broad spectrum energy to spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit ("LEO") and beyond. The network will deliver energy on demand and at higher concentrations of energy than the Sun to the existing solar arrays of client spacecraft enabling them to generate up to five to ten times the amount of power they would generate otherwise without retrofit.
With this seed funding, Star Catcher's immediate focus will be on validating and demonstrating its power beaming services for customers, beginning with ground demonstrations, followed by an on-orbit demonstration in late 2025.
