SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket To Blast Off On Post-Midnight Of December 16
While Russia is the process of looking for reasons why its Progress craft crashed back to Earth, tech billionaire Elon Musk of SpaceX is hoping for its Falcon 9 rocket to launch on December 16 this year. According to Iridium Communications Inc., SpaceX will be launching 10 of its satellites onboard its Falcon 9 rocket as early as December 16.
'We are looking forward to returning to flight,' SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said.
The launch of the said rocket will still depend on the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration which is in charge of overseeing U.S. commercial space transportation. SpaceX was about to launch on September 1 when the Falcon 9 rocket burst into flames.
The private space company had to cancel its flight schedule due to the disaster when one of the rockets bursts while being fueled for a routine prelaunch test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station located in Florida.
Reports claim that the blast occurred because there was a problem in the fueling system which caused a pressurized container of helium at the rocket's upper stage to burst. The said accident has destroyed a $200 million satellite which is owned by Israel's Space Communication Ltd.
'We are confident that SpaceX understands its fueling process now and will do it successfully for our launch,' Iridium spokeswoman Diane Hockenberry said.
According to DailyMail, Iridium's satellites will not carry aboard the rocket on the prelaunch engine firing. The private space company, however, refused to comment on the status of the recent accident investigation. Furthermore, the SpaceX remain silent as to what measures will be done to ensure that the problem will not reoccur.
Before the blastoff last September 1, the company was reported to use freezing liquid propellants to increase the rocket's power to ensure that it can fly back to Earth and be reused. Despite the accident in the station, the company will pursue the launching of the rocket on December 16 at 12:36 PM.