SpaceX CEO and Founder Elon Musk mentioned in a tweet that public help is needed in the disaster that happened without warning on Space Launch Complex-40 at around 9.07am EDT on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on September 1. One Twitter user said that the sound at 54 seconds in a video posted “sounds like a metal joint popping under stress” which Elon Musk said was “most likely true” but also said that “we cant yet find it on any vehicle sensors” pointing to the possibility of some outside sabotage. The company had also, last December, pulled off the world’s first landing of a booster rocket used in an orbital mission, and had been repeating the success. On December 21, 2015, SpaceX successfully launched (and landed on Earth) its Falcon 9 rocket. The company is now seeking the public help to know the exact reason. Initial results show that all engines of the rocket were not fired during the fuelling stage; therefore, there are “no apparent heat source” that may have caused the explosion.
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The September 1 explosion occurred just before a static fire test ahead of launch planned for two days later. He said the bang may have come from the rocket or something else. SpaceX will have another flight later this month at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
This incident marks the second Falcon 9 rocket failure in the company’s history.
The explosion quickly consumed the rocket destroying Facebooks AMOS-6 internet-beaming satellite and causing unprecedented damage to the launchpad a fairly unusual incident for a rocket explosion. Both pads are undergoing construction and should be ready soon.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, worth $60 million, was carrying a $200 million satellite to provide phone, video and internet services for the Middle East, Europe, and locations across sub-Saharan Africa.
For now, NASA isn’t saying much publicly, about the SpaceX mishap.
“Clearly this incident is a setback for SpaceX”, said Dale Skran, the National Space Society’s executive vice president.
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NASA launch director Tim Dunn was sympathetic and earlier in the week praised SpaceX’s resilience. “However, it is part of our business that has very harsh consequences”.
