COCOA BEACH, Fla. — The Federal Aviation Administration has granted approval for the Falcon 9 launch of the European Space Agency’s Hera asteroid

FAA clears Falcon 9 launch of Hera mission

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2024-10-07 13:30:07

COCOA BEACH, Fla. — The Federal Aviation Administration has granted approval for the Falcon 9 launch of the European Space Agency’s Hera asteroid mission, but is keeping the vehicle grounded for now for other missions.

In an Oct. 6 statement, the FAA stated it authorized a return to flight for the Falcon 9 solely for the Hera mission, scheduled to lift off no earlier than Oct. 7 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The vehicle has been grounded since an anomaly during a deorbit burn of the second stage on the Crew-9 launch Sept. 28.

“The FAA has determined that the absence of a second stage reentry for this mission adequately mitigates the primary risk to the public in the event of a reoccurrence of the mishap experienced with the Crew-9 mission,” the agency stated. The second stage will propel Hera on an Earth-escape trajectory and thus will not reenter.

The FAA added, though, that it is not clearing other Falcon 9 missions where the second stage does a deorbit burn. “Safety will drive the timeline for the FAA to complete its review of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mishap investigation report and when the agency will authorize Falcon 9 to return to regular operations,” it stated.