FAA grounds SpaceX ahead of historic Polaris Dawn commercial spacewalk

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded SpaceX rockets following a failure of a Falcon 9 rocket booster during a recent launch. This incident occurred early Wednesday morning and has significant implications for the upcoming Polaris Dawn mission, which aims to conduct the first commercial spacewalk. The Polaris Dawn crew of four astronauts is currently in quarantine, awaiting the launch that has already faced delays due to technical issues and weather. The failed booster, which was on its 23rd flight, experienced an uncontrolled fire upon attempting to land on a drone ship after successfully delivering satellites for SpaceX's Starlink project. The FAA stated that the Falcon 9 will remain grounded until the investigation is complete, which aims to enhance public safety and identify the root cause of the failure. This grounding follows a previous incident in July, which also resulted in a temporary suspension of Falcon 9 launches. The investigation could delay the Polaris Dawn mission and affect NASA's plans to send astronauts to the International Space Station in late September, as they were relying on Falcon 9 for transportation.

- FAA has grounded SpaceX rockets after a Falcon 9 booster failure.

- The Polaris Dawn mission, set for a commercial spacewalk, faces delays.

- The failed booster experienced an uncontrolled fire during landing.

- This is the second grounding of Falcon 9 in recent months.

- NASA's plans for astronaut transport to the ISS may also be impacted.