What SpaceX just Did with FAA to Launch Dragon Mission to ISS after F9 Failure Shocked industry

What SpaceX just Did with FAA to Launch Dragon Mission to ISS after F9 Failure Shocked industry
===
#alphatech
#techalpha
#spacex
#elonmusk
===
What SpaceX just Did with FAA to Launch Dragon Mission to ISS after F9 Failure Shocked industry
Finally, the FAA has officially cleared SpaceX to resume Falcon 9 launches, following a recent upper-stage anomaly that temporarily grounded the rocket. And almost immediately after getting that green light, NASA moved fast, rushing to move Crew-12 ahead of its original launch schedule.
That speaks volumes. A problem that could have dragged on for weeks or even months, was resolved by SpaceX in less than a week.
So what exactly went wrong with Falcon 9’s upper stage? And how did SpaceX manage to identify and fix the issue so quickly?
Let’s break it all down in today’s episode of Alpha Tech.
What SpaceX just Did with FAA to Launch Dragon Mission to ISS after F9 Failure Shocked industry
On February 2nd, 2026, SpaceX successfully launched a Starlink mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. On the surface, everything looked perfectly normal. The first stage separated cleanly and nailed its landing on the droneship. The second stage successfully deployed 25 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.
So why was this flight later classified as having an anomaly?
The issue appeared at the very end of the mission, when the second stage was preparing to perform its deorbit burn, the final engine firing meant to send the stage down on a controlled trajectory into a safe area of the ocean.
That burn never happened.
What SpaceX just Did with FAA to Launch Dragon Mission to ISS after F9 Failure Shocked industry
As they explained: The Merlin Vacuum engine failed to ignite because a gas bubble formed in the propellant transfer tube ahead of the planned deorbit burn. After that, the vehicle behaved exactly as it was designed to. The stage was safely passivated and reentered Earth’s atmosphere about 10 and a half hours later, over the southern Indian Ocean. No debris sightings have been reported, and there were no indications of any damage to third parties.
SpaceX quickly confirmed the event as an “off-nominal” condition during deorbit burn preparation. While the company successfully carried out passivation, venting remaining propellants and discharging batteries to reduce the risk of explosion or fragmentation, the stage could no longer maintain controlled flight.
===
Subcribe Alpha Tech: https://www.youtube.com/@alphatech4966/?sub_confirmation=1
===

Видео What SpaceX just Did with FAA to Launch Dragon Mission to ISS after F9 Failure Shocked industry канала ALPHA TECH