SpaceX Pauses Falcon 9 Launches After Upper Stage Anomaly
SpaceX has paused its Falcon 9 rocket launches after an anomaly occurred with the rocket's upper stage during a Starlink satellite deployment mission on February 2. The incident took place approximately nine hours after liftoff, when the upper stage was preparing for its final deorbit burn.
The company is currently reviewing data to determine the root cause before resuming flights, an action that impacts several upcoming missions, including the Crew-12 astronaut mission to the International Space Station.
Incident Details
On February 2, a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The mission successfully deployed 25 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.
Approximately nine hours after liftoff, the upper stage experienced an "off-nominal condition" while preparing for its final engine burn, which was intended to deorbit the stage. The upper stage did not perform this scheduled deorbit burn.
Despite the anomaly, SpaceX confirmed that the stage performed as designed up to the point of payload deployment and was subsequently passivated.
This passivation process involved venting residual propellants and discharging batteries to prevent future breakup. The upper stage is currently in an orbit of approximately 110 by 241 kilometers, with its closest point to Earth (perigee) lowered to 110 kilometers. Spaceflight analyst Jonathan McDowell noted that this orbital configuration suggests a prompt reentry.
Investigation and Impact on Missions
SpaceX has announced a pause in its Falcon 9 launches while teams review data to identify the root cause of the incident and determine corrective actions. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA's Commercial Crew teams are involved in the investigation alongside SpaceX.
This pause affects a Falcon 9 launch previously scheduled for February 3, and subsequently for February 5, from Florida.
Additionally, the upcoming Crew-12 astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is impacted.
This mission, scheduled for launch on February 11 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, was intended to restore the ISS to its normal complement of seven crewmembers after a medical evacuation on January 15 reduced the station's crew to three.
Previous Falcon 9 Incidents
This event follows several other issues involving the Falcon 9 in recent years:
- In September 2024, the Crew-9 mission's upper stage reentered outside its designated area, leading to a two-week pause in launches.
- In February 2025, another upper stage failed its deorbit burn due to a propellant leak, resulting in an uncontrolled reentry.
- In July 2024, an upper stage engine failed to restart, leaving Starlink payloads in a very low orbit, which prompted a a 15-day launch pause.
- In a separate incident in March (year unspecified), a Falcon 9 first stage toppled after landing due to a fuel leak, resulting in a one-week launch suspension.
The Falcon 9 conducted 165 launches in the previous year and 14 launches in the current year.