SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket experienced its first failure in over seven years during a Starlink satellite launch on Thursday night, as reported by Joey Roulette for Reuters. The rocket's second stage failed to reignite after liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, resulting in the loss of 20 Starlink satellites. CEO Elon Musk confirmed the engine suffered a "Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly" for unknown reasons.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has grounded the Falcon 9 pending an investigation into the cause of the failure, according to both Reuters and AFP. This setback ends a streak of over 300 successful missions for SpaceX's workhorse rocket, which is relied upon by many countries and companies for satellite and crew launches.

The failed mission is likely to impact SpaceX's ambitious launch schedule, including upcoming NASA crew flights to the International Space Station and the private Polaris Dawn mission. The company is working to understand the issue, which involved a liquid oxygen leak in the second stage, as detailed in both news reports.

Despite attempts to salvage the mission by updating the satellites' software, SpaceX confirmed the Starlink units will re-enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up. The company emphasized that the satellites pose no threat to the public or other spacecraft in orbit, a point highlighted in both the Reuters and AFP articles.

(Reuters, Agence France-Presse)