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Space
Space
Science
Mike Wall

SpaceX grounds its Falcon 9 rocket after a problem with its upper stage. Will the Crew-12 astronaut mission be affected?

SpaceX ISS Earth Jonathan McDowell NASA Starlink
View from the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket during a launch of 25 Starlink satellites on Feb. 2, 2026. The upper stage failed to deorbit as planned on that mission, after successfully deploying the satellites.

SpaceX has temporarily grounded its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which is slated to launch four astronauts just eight days from now.

A Falcon 9 delivered 25 of SpaceX's Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) as planned on Monday (Feb. 2). But, after deploying the payloads, the rocket's upper stage failed to perform its deorbit burn, which was designed to bring it down for controlled destruction in Earth's atmosphere.

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