The 20 Starlink satellites that failed to reach their intended orbit following a SpaceX rocket’s failure after lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base Thursday can’t be rescued but don’t pose a danger. 

Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration said it would require an investigation into the anomaly involving the second-stage engine. This means effectively grounds the Falcon fleet.

“The incident involved the failure of the upper stage rocket while it was in space. No public injuries or public property damage have been reported. The FAA is requiring an investigation,” the FAA statement said. 

This likely will keep the Falcon rocket cargo on the ground longer than planned including a pair of satellites for Norway that had been set to launch next week from Vandenberg. 

Rocket launch mishap investigations aim to find the root cause of the failure and identify fixes for the future with the FAA approving the final report. 

The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at 7:35 p.m. Thursday with 20 Starlink satellites, 13 of which boasted direct-to-cell capabilities. 

The rocket’s first-stage booster performed its duties and landed as planned on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Pacific Ocean. 

The rare Falcon rocket failure occurred minutes into flight and out of view for spectators on the Central Coast. 

Instead of SpaceX confirming deployment of the satellites, founder Elon Musk revealed the second-stage engine experienced a “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” or blew up. 

Falcon’s second-stage engine performed its first burn as planned. However, a liquid oxygen leak developed, SpaceX said in a Friday update.

“After a planned relight of the upper stage engine to raise perigee – or the lowest point of orbit – the Merlin Vacuum engine experienced an anomaly and was unable to complete its second burn,” SpaceX said in a statement Friday. 

The stage survived and still deployed the satellites, but did not successfully circularize its orbit. 

The failure left the satellites in what SpaceX called “an eccentric orbit” with a very low perigee of 84 miles, which is less than half the expected perigee altitude, SpaceX added.

“The team worked overnight to make contact with the satellites in order to send early burn commands,” SpaceX said. 

This meant the satellites were left in “an enormously high-drag environment” only 84 miles above the Earth as each pass through perigee removed 3-plus miles of altitude from the highest point in the orbit. 

“At this level of drag, our maximum available thrust is unlikely to be enough to successfully raise the satellites,” SpaceX said. 

“As such, the satellites will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and fully demise. They do not pose a threat to other satellites in orbit or to public safety,” SpaceX added.

SpaceX representatives said “the event” serves as a reminder about the technical challenges of spaceflight, noting the firm has completed 364 successful Falcon launches. 

“SpaceX will perform a full investigation in coordination with the FAA, determine root cause, and make corrective actions to ensure the success of future missions. With a robust satellite and rocket production capability, and a high launch cadence, we’re positioned to rapidly recover and continue our pace as the world’s most active launch services provider,” the firm said.