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by daedalus_j 606 days ago
The second stage failed it's de-orbit disposal burn. This second stage isn't even going to be doing one since it's carrying the payload out beyond earth orbit.

NASA and the FAA were pretty clear on this actually, they don't see any risk due to that previous failure, falcon 2nd stages haven't had any problems with their primary burn in a long time.
1 comments
grecy 606 days ago
> The second stage failed it’s de-orbit disposal burn.

Official word from SoaceX is that the second stage engine failed to shutdown on time, causing it to overshoot its planned landing zone. It ran 500 milliseconds long.

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daedalus_j 606 days ago
Yes, but during its de-orbit burn, [1] [2] which is a relighting of the engine once the payload has been released. This will not be an issue for europa clipper as the 2nd stage will not be coming back to earth, so there's no issue with a lack of accuracy on this one.

I had misremembered: it was the Hera launch the FAA cleared because there was no reentry risk. Europa clipper was expected to get the same treatment, but it seems the FAA and SpaceX were happy with their understanding of what happened with the 2nd stage anomaly and returned Falcon 9 to flight. [3]

[1] https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1840245345118498987

[2] https://x.com/jeff_foust/status/1845579767040626798

[3] https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/1g1kdk3/the_faa_aut...

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