The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket for flight on Friday after temporarily grounding it following a failed landing earlier this week. The company has already pulled off two launches since the FAA’s decision, putting 42 more Starlink satellites into orbit, it announced in a post on X today.
The agency said that while the investigation of the landing incident remains open, flights can continue, “provided all other license requirements are met,” according to CNN. SpaceX had requested a return to flight on Thursday, the same day the FAA initially grounded the rocket, reports Reuters.
Falcon 9 delivers 42 @Starlink satellites, including 26 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit in back-to-back launches from Florida and California pic.twitter.com/1eaiEn64f7
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 31, 2024
Aside from regular Starlink flights, SpaceX is also preparing to launch Polaris Dawn, a private mission to send billionaire Jared Isaacman and three others through the Van Allen radiation belts to perform the first private astronaut spacewalk.
SpaceX is also expected to send two astronauts to the International Space Station on NASA’s Crew-9 mission as soon as September 24th. The US space agency just bumped two astronauts from that mission in order to make room for astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, who NASA plans to bring back to earth in February after their Boeing spacecraft was found to be unfit for a crewed return flight.