FAA Grants Single Launch Approval for Falcon 9 Hera Mission

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted approval for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to proceed with the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hera asteroid mission, though other launches remain grounded for now.

In an Oct. 6 statement, the FAA confirmed it had cleared Falcon 9 solely for the Hera mission, which is slated for launch no earlier than Oct. 7 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida; as it second stage will propel the spacecraft on an Earth-escape trajectory, meaning it will not reenter the atmosphere and therefore poses no risk.

"The FAA has determined that the absence of a second stage reentry for this mission adequately mitigates the primary risk to the public in the event of a reoccurrence of the mishap experienced with the Crew-9 mission,” - FAA Statement

SpaceX Falcon 9 has been grounded since an anomaly occurred during the deorbit burn of its second stage after the Crew-9 launch on Sept. 28.

The FAA emphasized that this approval applies only to the Hera mission and not to other Falcon 9 launches where the second stage performs a deorbit burn.

"Safety will drive the timeline for the FAA to complete its review of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mishap investigation report and when the agency will authorize Falcon 9 to return to regular operations,” - FAA Statement

SpaceX completed its investigation into the Crew-9 anomaly and delivered the report to the FAA on Oct. 4. The FAA approved Falcon 9 for “one mission only”—the Hera launch—the same day.

Hera Prepares for Launch

Despite the grounding, preparations for the Hera mission have continued. ESA has confirmed that work continued to progress to ensure the mission could launch as soon as the FAA granted approval.

Hera is a $401 million (363-million-euro) mission designed to explore the asteroid Didymos and its moon Dimorphos, which was impacted by NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission in 2022.

Liftoff is scheduled for 10:52 a.m. Eastern on Oct. 7.

“The last hurdle is the weather,...It’s the only thing I really cannot control,” - Ian Carnelli, Project Manager

The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron has forecasted there is only a 15% chance of acceptable weather for the scheduled launch window.

Hurricane Milton

Complicating the situation further is Hurricane Milton which is moving eastward and has rapidly strengthened to hurricane status and is expected to become a Category 4, possibly Category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of landfall on Oct. 9.

The hurricane is likely to affect not only Hera’s launch but also other upcoming missions, including NASA’s Europa Clipper mission. The Europa Clipper, a key mission to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa, was scheduled to launch on a Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 10; but has been delayed.

Hera’s launch window runs until Oct. 27, while the Europa Clipper mission has flexibility to launch as late as Nov. 6. NASA has requested that Hera launch no later than 48 hours before the Europa Clipper to allow sufficient time for data reviews between launches.

Hurricane Milton is also delaying the return of NASA’s Crew-8 from the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew Dragon spacecraft was initially scheduled to undock on Oct. 7 and splash down off the coast of Florida, but this has now been pushed back to Oct. 8, with further delays likely. NASA will review splashdown plans again on Oct. 8.

As weather conditions worsen with Hurricane Milton’s approach, both the Hera mission and other key launches face increased uncertainty. All eyes remain on the skies, as mission teams hope for favorable conditions to move forward.