SpaceX Falcon 9 Engine Startup Abort Grounds Starlink 17-39 at Vandenberg Space Force Base

SpaceX's Falcon 9 suffered a rare post-ignition abort at Vandenberg Space Force Base on 20 July, with the flight computer detecting an engine startup anomaly and commanding automatic shutdown whilst the rocket remained clamped to the pad. The incident marks the second such abort in over two years and follows Starship's own ignition-phase abort four days earlier.

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