20 satellites to 'fall from sky' as SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket malfunctions

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket malfunction, a first in nearly a decade for the Elon Musk-led company, was triggered by a liquid oxygen leak

As many as 20 Starlink satellites are doomed to fall through the atmosphere and burn up as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has left them in a lower-than-intended orbit.  

According to an official statement from Elon Musk-led SpaceX, the upper stage engine of the Falcon 9 rocket malfunctioned several minutes after it was blasted off from California on Thursday (July 11) night. The malfunction, a first in nearly a decade for SpaceX, was triggered by a liquid oxygen leak, said the company.  

Initially, the rocket launch proceeded as expected, but “the second stage engine did not complete its second burn,” SpaceX added. Consequently, the Starlink satellites were left stranded in an elliptical orbit at an altitude of 135 kilometers, approximately half their intended operational altitude.

“At this altitude, our maximum available thrust is unlikely to be sufficient to successfully raise the satellites... Therefore, the satellites will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and be destroyed,” said SpaceX.

While SpaceX did not specify when the satellites might re-enter the atmosphere, the company assured in a post on X that “they do not pose a threat to other satellites in orbit or to public safety.”

Currently, over 6,000 Starlink satellites orbit the planet, providing internet service to customers in some of the most remote areas worldwide.

Meanwhile, an internal inquiry has been initiated to investigate the Falcon 9 rocket malfunction. The investigation will be conducted under the supervision of the US Federal Aviation Administration. Until the investigation is concluded, SpaceX has suspended further Falcon 9 rocket launches.

Notably, this incident marks the first Falcon 9 launch failure since 2016 and represents the second-largest loss of Starlink satellites, following a similar event in February 2022 when 40 satellites were lost due to a geomagnetic storm.