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SpaceX Gets the Green Light To Resume Rocket Launches (fortune.com)

Posted by msmash on from the green-light dept.

Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket company has been cleared to resume flying following a launch pad explosion four months ago, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday. From a report on Fortune: The decision clears SpaceX to attempt to launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 10 Iridium Communications satellites as early as Monday, a day later than originally planned. SpaceX, owned by Tesla Motors Chief Executive Officer Musk, on Friday declined to comment about what caused the delay. Liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California is targeted for around 10:26 a.m. PST/1:26 p.m. EST. The FAA, which oversees commercial U.S. space launches, oversaw SpaceX's investigation into why a Falcon 9 rocket burst into flames on a launch pad in Florida as it was being fueled for a routine, prelaunch test on Sept. 1. The accident destroyed the $62 million booster and a $200 million Israeli communications satellite that had been partly leased by Facebook to expand Internet access in Africa.

6 of 44 comments (clear)

  1. So they know what happened now? by bobbied · · Score: 2

    Seriously, does this mean they know what caused the thing to explode now?

    Anybody know what the reason was?

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    1. Re:So they know what happened now? by MrLogic17 · · Score: 5, Informative

      A nice summary of the issue (and work-around) from Scott Manley:

      https://plus.google.com/102502...

    2. Re:So they know what happened now? by Jfetjunky · · Score: 4, Informative

      You can also read SpaceX's status updates about it here: http://www.spacex.com/news/201...

    3. Re:So they know what happened now? by MrLogic17 · · Score: 2

      A TL;DR version: The outside carbon fiber overwrap for a tank is permeable for liquid oxygen. They tried filling in liquid helium so cold that the liquid oxygen froze. Just like water in pavement cracks freezing, bad things happened. Only, space rocket bad.

  2. Re:Capitalist potemkin village by erapert · · Score: 4, Informative

    Soviet Famine killed millions
    Chinese famine killed millions
    Venezuela's communist system is failing them now just like the USSR's system went belly up.
    Communist Vietnam has almost no human rights

    I could go on, but I think this is sufficient to disprove your bullshit.

  3. Re:Capitalist potemkin village by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 2

    In Soviet Russia, government makes jokes about you!

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.