SpaceX’s Falcon 9 grounded after failing landing attempt

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is prepared, after a delay, for launch of Polaris Dawn, a private human spaceflight mission, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral,

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday said SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket has been grounded after failing an attempt to land back on Earth during a routine Starlink mission, forcing the company’s second grounding this year.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 successfully launched a batch of Starlink internet satellites into orbit early Wednesday morning. The rocket’s reusable first stage booster attempted to land on a sea-faring barge, but toppled into the ocean, a SpaceX live stream showed.

(Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Chris Reese)