FAA grounds SpaceX Falcon 9 after first-stage booster incident

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The Federal Aviation Administration grounded SpaceX 's workhorse Falcon 9 rockets as it investigates why one of its first-stage boosters crashed onto a landing barge in the Atlantic Ocean, bringing a screeching halt to the company's robust launch schedule.

The difficult return of the first-stage booster safely to Earth, which SpaceX had made almost routine over the years, went awry Wednesday morning after separating from the second stage early Wednesday before dawn.

A second SpaceX flight scheduled to liftoff from California was paused after the incident. So was the expected launching of the all-civilian Polaris Dawn. The delay postponed what was expected to be the first civilian spacewalk.

"A return to flight of the Falcon 9 booster rocket is based on the FAA determining that any system, process or procedure related to the anomaly does not affect public safety," the FAA said.

"In addition, SpaceX may need to request and receive approval from the FAA to modify its license that incorporates any corrective actions and meet all other licensing requirements."

No one was hurt in the incident and the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket delivered the satellites into orbit as expected. According to the FAA, SpaceX could be cleared to fly again with an ongoing investigation under certain conditions.

"We are working as hard as we can to thoroughly understand [the] root cause and get corrective actions in place ASAP," SpaceX's Vice President of Falcon Launch Vehicles Jon Edwards, said.

"One thing we do know though is this was purely a recovery issue and posed no threat to the primary mission or public safety."