The space company Space X's rocket Falcon 9 has been banned from flying after a failed attempt to place satellites in orbit around the Earth.
As a consequence, 20 satellites have ended up in an orbit that is too low and will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up, reports AP. This is the first time in nearly a decade that Falcon 9 has experienced a failure.
The US aviation authority FAA is now demanding an investigation and has stopped all launches of the rocket model until the problem is solved. Space X stated on Friday that the failure was due to a leak of liquid oxygen.
The failure raises questions about how long Falcon 9 will be banned from flying. At the end of July, it was planned that a billionaire would travel with the rocket to make the first private spacewalk.
The rocket also has a key role in NASA's manned spaceflight program. As recently as in January, the Swedish astronaut Marcus Wandt traveled with Falcon 9 to the international space station ISS.
Space X, led by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, is also behind the Starlink network, which provides people with internet access in the most remote places in the world with thousands of satellites.
