Elon Musk: SpaceX aiming to return to flight next month

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated on Friday his space launch company is intending to return its rockets to flight in mid-December following a launch pad mishap 2 months earlier.

In the interview with CNBC, Musk stated investigators had determined why a Falcon 9 rocket burst into flames on September 1 as it was being sustained for a regular, preflight test.

The mishap damaged a $200 million Israeli interactions satellite and grounded the Falcon 9 fleet for the 2nd time in 14 months.

The reason for the mishap was a fueling system concern that unintentionally produced strong oxygen inside the rocket’s upper phase tank. The oxygen then responded with a carbon composite bottle including liquid helium that sits inside the oxygen tank, setting off an explosion.

“I believe we have actually gotten to the bottom of the issue,” stated Musk. He included that the concern had never ever been come across in the history of rocketry.

Musk did not define exactly what mission would launch next, nor if SpaceX would fly from a brand-new launch pad at Kennedy Space Center located in Florida, or from its West Coast site located at Vandenberg Air force Base in California.

SpaceX’s main launch pad, situated south of Kennedy Area Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, was harmed in the September 1 mishap. SpaceX has refused to release information on the degree of damage.

The company has a stockpile of about 70 missions, worth over $10 billion.