The Falcon 9 rocket had exploded at the SpaceX launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida extensively damaging the facility. The explosion also destroyed a commercial communication satellite of Facebook which was to spread web services across remote locations not been covered by the internet. SpaceX has initiated an investigation into the explosion and after concluding the investigation is now tentatively set for its next launch on January 8.
The Hawthorne space company will launch ten satellites aboard the Falcon 9 rocket after due approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. The ten satellites are a part of the new constellation of Iridium Communication Incorporated and will contribute in providing better mobile communication capabilities for transport aids on land, sea and the air. Iridium has confirmed about the intended launch in a tweet.
It is finally some good news after a series of mishaps which had severely shaken the confidence in SpaceX and its ability to launch space hardware. More than the financial loss, what was more important was to know the exact cause. This led to a lengthy and exhaustive four-month investigation which was able to pinpoint the cause of the accident.
The investigation was tedious, and experts pored over more than 3000 channels of videos and telemetry data which pertained to the first sign of trouble to the disastrous explosion. The problem was found in one of the three composite overwrapped pressure vessels.
As the investigation continued, the future launches kept postponing despite SpaceX keeping a brave face and hoping to start launches in the shortest time possible. SpaceX was also indicted for hurrying things up and not following all the safety protocols. The explosion on September 1 destroyed an Israeli satellite as well as a satellite owned by Facebook.
