--- title: "SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Crashes While Landing" description: "Streak Say what you will about SpaceX, but there's no denying that its Falcon 9 rocket is one of the most, if not the most, reliable and advanced launch system in the world. But, alas: even this impeccable performer's years-long flawless record has come to an end. On Wednesday morning, after making its way back […]" date: "2024-08-28" modified: "2024-08-28" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-rocket-crashes-landing" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Falcon" - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "falcon 9" - "rockets" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Crashes While Landing ![The SpaceX booster crashed Wednesday after successfully completing its mission to deliver Starlink satellites to orbit.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## Hot Streak Say what you will about SpaceX, but there's no denying that its Falcon 9 rocket is one of the most — if not the most — [reliable and advanced launch systems]() in the world. But, alas: even this impeccable performer's years-long flawless record has come to an end. On Wednesday morning, after making its way back from a successfully completed mission to deliver 21 Starlink satellites to orbit, a Falcon 9 rocket booster crashed while trying to land on the *A Shortfall of Gravitas* droneship — essentially a landing pad in the form of a barge — in Cape Canaveral, Florida, [*Ars Technica* reports](). By crash, we don't mean like what its ponderously larger cousin, Starship, has often tended to do, [which is explode](). Instead, the Falcon 9 booster unceremoniously tipped over moments after touching down, according to SpaceX, as a fireball of flames continued to erupt from its engines. The fiery end of the booster also marks the end of Falcon 9's absurdly impressive streak of 267 successful booster landings in a row — or the first time in over *three years* that the booster hasn't completed a landing. ## Scrub Life This booster in particular, B1062, was on its record-setting 23rd launch. *Ars* speculates that the botched landing could have been caused by an engine burn timing issue. Video of the landing also appears to show one of its landing legs collapsing. But for now, the cause remains uncertain. While the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage booster didn't run into any issues while delivering the Starlink satellites, the failure of the first stage has given pause at the company. SpaceX said that its second Starlink launch, originally scheduled for early Wednesday morning, would be delayed to review data from the previous launch, it [announced in a tweet]() — and that's probably for the best. https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1828703758928273645 ## Delays Galore Before Wednesday's launch — and the delay that followed — SpaceX had also [scrubbed the highly-anticipated launch]() of the [Polaris Dawn mission](), which would send a team of civilian astronauts through the Van Allen radiation belts, setting the stage for the first private spacewalk. Of note is that the mission was also slated to use a Falcon 9 rocket, though the delay was attributed to a poor weather forecast and not to any issues with the launch system itself. With Wednesday's flub, however, there could be even more delays in store for the Polaris mission as SpaceX investigates the cause of the crash. As *Ars* notes, it's worth noting that booster landings are considered secondary objectives, so the success of a mission doesn't hinge on whether one is completed or not. That being said, losing a reusable rocket will be costly, and takes some shine off Falcon 9's impressive track record. **More on SpaceX:** *[SpaceX Discovers Starliner-Like Leak Before Launch of Space Tourists]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()