CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A SpaceX booster caught fire and tipped over early Wednesday while trying to land on a drone ship in the Atlantic.
A Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at 3:48 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, sending another batch of Starlink satellites into orbit.
After the launch, the rocket’s first stage booster caught fire and tipped over while trying to land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship.
“Teams are assessing the booster’s flight data and status. This was the booster’s 23rd launch,” SpaceX said on X.
After a successful ascent, Falcon 9's first stage booster tipped over following touchdown on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship. Teams are assessing the booster's flight data and status. This was the booster's 23rd launch.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 28, 2024
SpaceX announced the overnight launch after delaying the crewed Polaris Dawn mission because of weather concerns for when the astronauts would need to return to Earth.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
This marks the first landing failure for the company since February 2021.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: