Tue Mar 11 03:20:00 UTC 2025: ## SpaceX Booster Fire Prompts Investigation, Delays, but No Launch Concerns

**WASHINGTON, March 8** – A SpaceX Falcon 9 booster suffered a fuel leak during its March 2nd Starlink launch, resulting in a post-landing fire that destroyed the rocket, officials revealed today. Despite the incident, upcoming NASA missions are not currently at risk, according to both SpaceX and NASA.

The fire, which ignited approximately 45 seconds after the booster landed on a droneship, was attributed to a fuel leak that occurred about 85 seconds after liftoff. The leaked fuel vaporized, and upon contact with oxygen after landing and a hot engine component, ignited. While the resulting fire damaged the rocket’s landing leg, causing it to topple, SpaceX Vice President Bill Gerstenmaier emphasized that the fire was contained within a single engine compartment, and would not have jeopardized the mission had it occurred during ascent.

Julianna Scheiman of SpaceX and Denton Gibson of NASA’s Launch Services Program confirmed that both agencies conducted independent reviews of the incident. They concluded that the March 2nd failure poses no risk to the upcoming launches of the SPHEREx astronomy spacecraft and PUNCH space science mission (scheduled for March 8th) or the Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station (scheduled for March 12th).

The SPHEREx/PUNCH launch was previously delayed by more than a week due to launch vehicle issues unrelated to the fuel leak. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Manager, Steve Stich, announced that a static fire test of the Crew-10 booster is planned for March 9th to thoroughly inspect for potential fuel leaks. SpaceX engineers are currently investigating the root cause of the fuel leak, hampered by the extensive fire damage.

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Tue Mar 11 03:20:00 UTC 2025: ## SpaceX Falcon 9 Booster Fire Prompts Investigation, Delays SPHEREx/PUNCH Launch

**Washington, D.C. –** A SpaceX Falcon 9 booster suffered a fuel leak during its March 2nd launch, resulting in a post-landing fire that destroyed the rocket, SpaceX officials revealed at briefings this week. While the incident did not affect the successful deployment of Starlink satellites (Group 12-20), it caused the booster to topple after landing on a droneship.

The fire, which ignited approximately 45 seconds after landing, was attributed to a fuel leak that occurred about 85 seconds into the ascent in one of the booster’s nine engines. The fuel vaporized and ignited upon contact with oxygen after landing, contained within the compartment of the affected engine. SpaceX officials emphasized that the fire was contained and posed no risk to the mission’s success.

NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) conducted an independent review of the incident, concluding that there was no risk to the upcoming launch of the SPHEREx astronomy spacecraft and PUNCH space science mission. However, this incident, coupled with other launch vehicle issues, resulted in a delay of the SPHEREx/PUNCH launch, now scheduled for March 8th.

The investigation into the source of the fuel leak is ongoing. The extensive fire damage makes pinpointing the root cause challenging. NASA is closely monitoring the situation, particularly in relation to the upcoming Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station, scheduled for March 12th. A static fire test of the Crew-10 booster is planned for March 9th to further assess potential fuel leak risks. Both NASA and SpaceX are prioritizing a thorough investigation to prevent similar incidents in future launches.

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