SpaceX’s prolific Falcon 9 rocket has been grounded for the second time in two months after federal regulators said they wanted to review a wayward landing attempt that occurred Wednesday morning.

That makes the Falcon 9 rocket unable to fly with two key human spaceflight missions on the horizon.

The company is slated to launch a daring mission called Polaris Dawn as soon as this week, and next month it’s expected to launch two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station on Crew-9, a mission that will also bring home Boeing Starliner’s test flight astronauts, who have been in limbo on the orbiting laboratory since the first leg of their journey in early June.

Check back for updates.

First Published August 28, 2024, 6:15 p.m.