Following the positive turnout of the probe on the explosion of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 on Sept. 1 prior to its launch, Space X CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday the relaunch would be in mid-December. He said the investigation found that the explosion was not deliberate.
The ignition of the liquid oxygen when the Space X Falcon 9 rocket was being fueled caused the explosion. The chunk of oxygen was so cold that it froze into a solid and them combusted with a carbon fiber tank inside the rocket. Musk was surprised by the results of the investigation since the Space X rocket has a unique way of fuelling, and it was the first time in space history it happened.
Facebook Satellite Damaged
The explosion damaged the rocket’s fleet and $200 million worth of Israeli communication satellite, owned by Facebook to make the most popular social media site available in larger parts of Africa. But it was not the first accident involving Space X in the 14 months since the company began.
The mid-December launch would no longer be held at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida where the explosion occurred. It would be launched from a new launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The unidentified spacecraft to be used could be flown from its current site in West Coast’s Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Newseveryday reported.
Danger To Future Space Travellers
After the Sept. 1 explosion, Thomas Stafford, current chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s International Space Station Advisory Committee, said the disaster raised concern over Space X’s plan to use its rockets to send future space travelers to the International Space Station, Popular Science reported. Space X said the company is coordinating with NASA to refine its plans for the boarding procedure. The company believes it could be safer to fuel the rocket nearer the scheduled lift off rather than let the rocket, with fuel inside, sit around for four to eight hours before the takeoff which could place the ground crew in danger.
