Updated: 6:15 PM EDT Sep 30, 2024 EARLIER THAN SEPTEMBER OF 2026. MEANWHILE, SPACEX’S FLEET OF ROCKETS REMAINS GROUNDED AT THIS HOUR. YEAH, THIRD TIME IN THREE MONTHS. THE MOVE COMES AFTER SATURDAY’S CREW NINE LAUNCH DIDN’T GO AS PLANNED. LIFTOFF OF CREW NINE NOW SOLELY TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. CREW NINE STARTED AND ENDED WITHOUT ISSUES. A PICTURE PERFECT LAUNCH FOLLOWED BY A DOCKING AT THE ISS ON THE RETURN DEORBIT BURN. SPACEX SAYS AN UNKNOWN ISSUE CAUSED THE UPPER STAGE TO LAND OFF COURSE. THIS TIME, NO ONE WAS HURT, BUT SPACEX GROUNDED THE FLEET UNTIL FURTHER INVESTIGATION. THE ISSUE, OF COURSE, IS THE FACT THAT THIS UPPER STAGE IS DESIGNED TO REENTER AND ANY DEBRIS OR ANY PARTS, AND PIECES HAVE TO LAND IN A SAFE ZONE. WORST CASE SCENARIO, IT COULD BE ON LAND. DOCTOR DON PLATT, A PROFESSOR AT FLORIDA TECH, SAYS BASED ON PREVIOUS GROUNDINGS, THE FALCON NINE WILL START UP AGAIN IN THE COMING WEEKS. I WOULD SAY WITHIN A WEEK OR SO, THEY SHOULD BE BACK ON TARGET HERE. EARLIER THIS SUMMER, A BATCH OF STARLINK SATELLITES GOT LOST AFTER A HARDWARE MALFUNCTION. NOW IT’S ALL FIXED IN A POST-LAUNCH PRESS CONFERENCE, SARAH WALKER, DIRECTOR OF DRAGON MISSION MANAGEMENT, REFLECTED ON THE CHALLENGES SPACE FLIGHT PRESENTS TO SPACEX. WE STILL LEARN SOMETHING EVERY SINGLE TIME WE FLY. WE’VE HAD OUR SHARE OF HARDWARE CHALLENGES THAT THE NASA TEAMS HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLE TO WORK THROUGH WITH US. ROCKETRY IS STILL VERY DIFFICULT. THIS IS NOT AN EASY THING. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT HUGE AMOUNTS OF ENERGY. THE PRESSURE FOR A FIX IS ON AS NASA NEEDS SPACEX TO FLY THE EUROPA CLIPPER SPACECRAFT NEXT MONTH ON A FALCON HEAVY. THE PLANETS HAVE TO ALIGN TO MAKE THE MISSION A SUCCESS. THE HOPE IS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JUPITER’S ICY MOON AND A VAST INTERNAL OCEAN THAT MAY SUPPORT LIFE. SO UNDERSTANDING AND REPAIRING ANY PROBLEMS WITH SPACE HARDWARE IS CRITICAL. CREW NINE FLEW UP WITH TWO ON BOARD IN ORDER TO BRING HOME THE STARLINER CREW. NASA AND BOEING SAID HARDWARE ISSUES WERE JUST TOO GREAT OF A RISK FOR ASTRONAUTS. BUTCH WILMORE AND SUNI WILLIAMS, Advertisement Matt Leonard SpaceX is putting all Falcon 9 rocket launches on hold after an anomaly during the otherwise successful Crew-9 mission on Saturday.In a post on social media, the private spaceflight company said the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket supporting the Crew-9 launch "experienced an off-nominal deorbit burn" and landed outside the targeted area in the ocean.The company said it will resume launches after a better understanding of what caused this issue.NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission is sending a two-man crew to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are currently enroute to the ISS where they will spend about five months performing scientific experiments. Hague and Gorbunov will be joined by NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on their return flight from the ISS in February 2025.The Falcon 9 rocket is a partially reusable two stage rocket that has been in service for over a decade. SpaceX regularly recovers the first stage rocket booster, including a successful landing of the booster supporting the Crew-9 mission on Saturday. The second stage of the rocket is not reusable and is used to position the payload into its intended target orbit. CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. — SpaceX is putting all Falcon 9 rocket launches on hold after an anomaly during the otherwise successful Crew-9 mission on Saturday. In a post on social media, the private spaceflight company said the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket supporting the Crew-9 launch "experienced an off-nominal deorbit burn" and landed outside the targeted area in the ocean. Advertisement The company said it will resume launches after a better understanding of what caused this issue. NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission is sending a two-man crew to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are currently enroute to the ISS where they will spend about five months performing scientific experiments. Hague and Gorbunov will be joined by NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on their return flight from the ISS in February 2025. The Falcon 9 rocket is a partially reusable two stage rocket that has been in service for over a decade. SpaceX regularly recovers the first stage rocket booster, including a successful landing of the booster supporting the Crew-9 mission on Saturday. The second stage of the rocket is not reusable and is used to position the payload into its intended target orbit. Top Picks