The SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle is authorized to return to flight for a planned mission scheduled to launch on Oct. 7 from a station in Florida, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Sunday. "The SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle is authorized to return to flight only for the planned Hera mission scheduled to launch on Oct.

Liftoff of the ESA/NASA Hera mission is set for Monday, sending a spacecraft on a two year journey to a familiar asteroid system.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Monday said SpaceX must investigate why the second stage of its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket malfunctioned after a NASA astronaut mission on Saturday, grounding the rocket for the third time in three months.