The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Friday that SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket can resume flights while the overall investigation into an anomaly during the recent Starlink mission remains open.
SpaceX submitted a return-to-flight request for the workhorse vehicle on Thursday, and the FAA gave its approval on Friday. The agency said flights could resume “subject to compliance with all other license requirements.”
On Wednesday, the FAA landed Falcon 9 after failure of attempt land on Earth during a scheduled Starlink mission, leading to the company's second suspension of operations this year.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 successfully launched a batch of Starlink internet satellites into orbit Wednesday morning from Florida. The rocket's reusable first booster returned to Earth and attempted to land on a sea barge as usual, but crashed into the ocean after a fiery landing.
Watch the Falcon 9 launch from Florida on 21 @Starlink satellite https://t.co/u0TT6F9LpM
Falcon 9 landings on the ground are relatively rare
Groundings of the Falcon 9, the rocket that much of the Western world relies on to launch satellites and people into space, are rare. The rocket was previously stopped in July for the first time since 2016, after a second stage failure in space destroyed a batch of Starlink satellites.
Following the July grounding, SpaceX returned the Falcon 9 to flight 15 days after the FAA granted the company's request for an expedited return to flight.
In late September, Falcon 9 is also scheduled to launch two NASA astronauts on the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which will bring home two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station next year after flying on Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft.
Since its first rocket launch in 2010, SpaceX has built a significant fleet of reusable Falcon boosters, allowing the company to significantly outpace its competitors in launch frequency.
Another Starlink mission was scheduled to launch from another SpaceX launch site in Southern California shortly after Wednesday's flight, but the company canceled that mission after the landing failed.