TECH - Elon Musk's SpaceX Fails To Deploy Starlink Satellites In Intended Orbit Owing To A Rocket Engine Issue But Efforts Underway To Salvage Mission: 'Unlike A Star Trek Episode…' | Benzinga
Elon Musk‘s SpaceX on Friday said that the company couldn’t deploy Starlink satellites in its intended orbit on Thursday owing to an issue with the Falcon 9 rocket’s second-stage engine.
What Happened: The Starlink satellites were subsequently deployed into a lower-than-intended orbit, the company said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The company is unaware of the reasons for the engine issue and is reviewing data to understand the root cause, SpaceX CEO Musk said.
Upper stage restart to raise perigee resulted in an engine RUD for reasons currently unknown. Team is reviewing data tonight to understand root cause.
Starlink satellites were deployed, but the perigee may be too low for them to raise orbit. Will know more ...