{"id":12584,"date":"2020-03-19T01:54:43","date_gmt":"2020-03-18T17:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/falcon-9-rocket-overcomes-engine-failure-to-deploy-starlink-satellites\/"},"modified":"2020-03-19T01:54:43","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T17:54:43","slug":"falcon-9-rocket-overcomes-engine-failure-to-deploy-starlink-satellites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/falcon-9-rocket-overcomes-engine-failure-to-deploy-starlink-satellites\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcon 9 rocket overcomes engine failure to deploy Starlink satellites"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
A Falcon 9 rocket takes off from pad 39A Wednesday morning at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket overcame a rare in-flight engine failure soon after launch from Florida\u2019s Space Coast Wednesday to place 60 satellites in orbit for the company\u2019s Starlink Internet network.<\/p>\n

One of the rocket\u2019s nine first stage engines shut down prematurely around 2 minutes, 22 seconds, after liftoff from pad 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an event visible in a view from a camera streaming live video from the Falcon 9 as it climbed into the upper atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Elon Musk, SpaceX\u2019s founder and CEO, confirmed in a tweet that the Falcon 9 experienced an \u201cearly engine shutdown on ascent, but it didn\u2019t affect orbit insertion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rocket\u2019s other Merlin engines fired a little longer to compensate for the loss of thrust. The rest of the Falcon 9\u2019s climb into orbit appeared to go according to plan, and the upper stage deployed the 60 Starlink satellites into orbit around 15 minutes after liftoff.<\/p>\n

\u201cShows value of having 9 engines!\u201d Musk wrote on Twitter.<\/p>\n

The first stage missed a landing attempt on SpaceX\u2019s drone ship parked in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of Cape Canaveral, the second time SpaceX has missed a rocket landing in the company\u2019s last three missions. It was not immediately clear whether the engine shutdown on ascent affected the recovery attempt.<\/p>\n

There are nine kerosene-fueled Merlin 1D engines on the Falcon 9\u2019s first stage, each generating 190,000 pounds of thrust at sea level when firing at full power. The Falcon 9 is designed to persevere through a booster engine failure and still deliver its payload to orbit.<\/p>\n

The in-flight engine failure on Wednesday\u2019s launch marked the second time a Merlin engine has prematurely shut down on a Falcon 9 flight.<\/p>\n

In October 2012, a Merlin 1C engine \u2014 a predecessor to the Merlin 1D \u2014 failed during the launch of a Dragon supply ship on the way to the International Space Station. The Falcon 9 was still able to deliver the Dragon spacecraft into orbit, but the failure resulted in the loss of an Orbcomm data relay satellite riding as a secondary payload.<\/p>\n

Musk promised a \u201cthorough investigation\u201d of Wednesday\u2019s early engine shutdown before the next Falcon 9 launch, and it was not immediately clear whether the inquiry might prompt launch delays.<\/p>\n

The first stage flown on Monday\u2019s mission was making its fifth trip to space, after flawless performance on four previous missions since 2018. It was the first time SpaceX has launched a Falcon 9 booster on a fifth flight.<\/p>\n

The launch was previously scheduled for Sunday, but computers ordered a last-second abort after ignition of the rocket\u2019s Merlin main engines. Musk tweeted that the launch attempt was aborted due to \u201cslightly high power\u201d detected in the Falcon 9\u2019s propulsion system, adding that the event was \u201cpossible, but not obviously, related to today.\u201d<\/p>\n