SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage engine fails catastrophically during Starlink launch.
Elon Musk posted early Friday on X that SpaceX's second stage engine failed or exploded during a final "burn" to raise.....
...the orbit's low point after launching another batch of Starlink internet satellites from California Thursday.
Musk joked that the oddity was a "RUD," short for "rapid unscheduled disassembly."
X reported an engine RUD after an upper stage restart to raise perigee for unclear reasons.
"Team is analyzing data tonight to find cause. Starlink satellites were deployed, however their perigee may be too low to raise orbit. Expect more in a few hours."
SpaceX later said flight controllers had contacted five of the 20 Starlink satellites launched on Thursday and were "trying to get them to use their ion thrusters to raise their orbits."
Musk stated that Starlink was "updating satellite software to run ion thrusters at warp 9.
Unlike Star Trek, this may not work, but it's worth a shot. The satellite thrusters must raise orbit faster than atmospheric drag or burn up."
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