(CNN) – The world's most prolific rocket, the SpaceX Falcon 9, has been cleared to fly again, federal regulators announced Friday night, putting the vehicle back on track for two high-profile space missions.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which licenses commercial rocket launches, grounded SpaceX’s rocket on August 28 after part of a Falcon 9 booster exploded while attempting to land. Just two days later, the agency said it had cleared the rocket to fly again.
“SpaceX’s Falcon 9 vehicle may return to flight operations while the overall investigation into the anomaly during (Wednesday’s) mission remains ongoing, provided all other licensing requirements are met,” the agency said in an emailed statement. “SpaceX submitted the return-to-flight application on Aug. 29 and the FAA granted approval on Aug. 30.”
The Falcon 9 clearance comes at a time when SpaceX has two pivotal missions on its manifest. The company plans to launch a mission called Polaris Dawn that will take a crew of civilian space travelers on an ambitious journey to attempt the first commercial spacewalk. The launch was delayed by a problem with ground systems and forecasts of bad weather.
In late September, SpaceX plans to send two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station on Crew-9, a mission that, after a months-long rotation, aims to bring home Boeing's Starliner test flight crew in 2025.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been in limbo on the orbiting laboratory since their flight on Starliner in early June.
Failed landing attempts for the Falcon 9 rocket, such as the one that occurred Wednesday, do not affect the overall success of a SpaceX mission. The company attempts the maneuver solely so it can refurbish and reuse booster rockets, a practice that reduces the cost of each flight, according to SpaceX.
About a decade ago, SpaceX was attempting to land its booster rockets after the unsuccessful flight. The company even shared a video of the explosions in 2017.
In recent years, however, Falcon 9 rockets have routinely found their footing upon returning to Earth.
The Falcon 9 rocket that exploded on August 28 was reconditioned and flew 22 times before crashing. However, the mission that launched on the day of the accident was ultimately successful, putting a batch of internet-transmitting Starlink satellites into orbit.
That explosion marked the second time in two months that an anomaly prompted the FAA to open an investigation into the Falcon 9, which also has a history of hundreds of problem-free flights.
But in July, as a Falcon 9 was delivering another set of Starlink satellites into orbit, the rocket’s upper stage, which is separate from the lower booster rocket, abruptly failed in flight.
The satellites did not enter the planned orbit and the mission overall was a failure.
SpaceX later revealed that an oxygen leak occurred while the rocket’s second stage was in flight. (Liquid oxygen, or LOX, is commonly used as an oxidizer or propellant for rockets.) The leak caused what SpaceX CEO Elon Musk described at one point as a “RUD” (rapid unscheduled disassembly), a phrase the company often uses to refer to an explosion.
About two weeks after that explosion, the FAA determined there were no “public safety concerns” involved and allowed SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to fly again. However, the FAA’s investigation into the mishap is still ongoing, the agency told CNN on Friday. That review is not related to the investigation into the August 28 booster rocket’s failed landing, meaning two investigations into separate Falcon 9 incidents are underway.
