Elon Musk Confirms Date For First Launch Since SpaceX Rocket Explosion
SpaceX boss Elon Musk has confirmed that next week will see the private space firm’s first launch since its Falcon 9 rocket exploded on take-off in June.
A launch date of 19 December has been given for the rocket which will carry 11 Orbcomm communication satellites into orbit.
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Musk tweeted:
“Aiming for Falcon rocket static fire at Cape Canaveral on the 16th and launch about three days later”.
The launch comes nearly six months after SpaceX’s unmanned Falcon 9 rocket exploded shortly after take-off from Cape Canaveral.
It was carrying a Dragon capsule packed with supplies for the International Space Station.
A faulty steel strut in the rocket’s fuel tank was found to be the cause of the explosion.
Five months after the incident, debris from the doomed rocket was found washed up in the Scilly Isles, just off the Cornish coast and 4,000 miles from the Florida launch site.
Following next week’s planned launch, SpaceX will attempt to land the rocket back on solid ground, while it has previously landed its rockets on ships stationed out at sea.
SpaceX hopes to make the Falcon 9 rocket reusable.
Amazon boss Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin recently landed a rocket back on the ground successfully.
SpaceX is expected to start ferrying astronauts to the ISS in 2017
Image credit: AFP
