SpaceX’s next rocket launch has been delayed for a few months, following the June 28 explosion that destroyed an unmanned space station cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS). Officials of the aerospace firm said the Falcon 9 rocket would launch in a few months, after previous plans to launch no later than September.
WHY THE DELAY?
Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, said Monday at a scientific forum in Pasadena that they are still “a couple months away from the next flight.” She said they’re taking more time than they originally had thought. “But I don’t think any of our customers wants us to race to the cliff and fail again,” she said. The explosion that occurred in June has initiated more careful construction, delaying the next launch. Until then, SpaceX had a flawless launch record for its Falcon 9, which had successfully completed 17 missions since June 2010.
OLD EXPLOSION PROMPTS FURTHER INVESTIGATION
The company’s Falcon 9 rocket was carrying cargo worth $110 million for NASA when it disintegrated two minutes after liftoff, according to the Los Angeles Times. SpaceX believes the likely culprit was a single, two-foot-long, one-inch-thick steel strut. Rocket struts on a Falcon 9 are designed to handle forces 10 times that of Earth’s gravity, or 10 g. The strut to blame broke at 2 g.
The manner in which NASA responded to this incident remains a heated debate. According to USA Today, NASA set up a independent accident review team after the explosion, but allowed SpaceX to conduct its own probe into the June crash. John Taylor, SpaceX spokesman, said the investigation is going as planned.
NEED A JOB? SPACEX IS LOOKING FOR A WELDER
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket’s delay gives the aerospace company time to construct better launch pads. More time for better structure will save millions of dollars and possibly lives if SpaceX wants to continue launching rockets carrying cargo and still holds hope to transport humans. SpaceX announced that it’s looking for a structural welder for its launch site in South Texas, according to Perfect Science. Structural welding is an important utility of the launch site engineering and build team, the aerospace company said.
