SpaceX is still investigating the reasons behind the explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket on liftoff on June 28. The space development company was attampting to ferry nearly 2 tons of supplies and equipment to the International Space Station when the mishap occurred, destroying the vehicle and its payload.
The destruction of the SpaceX vehicle at the end of June marked the third time since October that a spacecraft was unable to deliver its payload to the crew of the space station. An Orbital Science Antares rocket failed immediately after launch in the autumn of 2014, followed by the loss of a Progress 59 cargo ship from Russia, in May 2015. These losses have left the occupants of the orbiting outpost with just four months of supplies, rather than the normal six months.
SpaceX is still being considered for a contract to launch a new satellite to join the Global Positioning System network. The United States Air Force has expressed its support for SpaceX retaining eligibility for the launch, saying there is still plenty of time for the space development company to correct any technological issues its equipment may be facing.
"If SpaceX were to win, it would be two years before the launch, more or less, and there would be plenty of time to make sure they would be mission-ready," U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah James said.
Air Force personnel are participating in the investigation of the Falcon 9 explosion. Immediately following the event, Gwynne Shotwell, CEO and president of SpaceX, called James to stress the drive SpaceX has for identifying and repairing the problem.
Space Exploration Technologies, otherwise known as SpaceX, was founded by PayPal developer Elon Musk. The entrepreneur regularly keeps the public abreast of happenings on social media.
"Expect to reach preliminary conclusions regarding last flight by end of week. Will brief key customers & FAA, then post on our website," Musk tweeted on July 5.
Since the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, the United States has been without a domestic means of bringing astronauts to space. Currently, NASA is flying astronauts aboard flights launched by Russia, and is hoping private space companies, like SpaceX, will be able to ferry humans to the space station in coming years.
An additional cost will be added to the proposed SpaceX budget submitted for the GPS launch, due to the risk of using a launch system which has suffered a catastrophic failure.
The United Launch Alliance, a cooperative effort between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, had successfully launched 83 flights in a row before losing a launch vehicle.
