时间:2025-05-01 14:19:39 来源:网络整理编辑:探索
SpaceX engineers are making progress in the investigation of what the company's founder Elon Musk ca
SpaceX engineers are making progress in the investigation of what the company's founder Elon Musk called the "most difficult and complex failure" in the company's history.
Those investigating the Sept. 1 explosion of one of the company's Falcon 9 rockets have traced the accident to a "large breach in the cryogenic helium system" in the second stage of the rocket, according to an update posted by SpaceX Friday. However, the cause of the breach is not yet known.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 accident — which took place while the rocket was stationary on its pad just before a test — destroyed the AMOS-6 communications satellite, a spacecraft that was going to be leased, in part, by Facebook for the social network's initiative aimed at bringing Wi-Fi to the world.
SEE ALSO:SpaceX explosion is causing some to question Elon Musk's ambitious plansSpaceX also claims that the data review conducted through the course of the still ongoing investigation has shown that the explosion has no connection to the issue that caused another Falcon 9 explosion in 2015.
The company has also established an ambitious timeline getting their rockets back in the air.
"Pending the results of the investigation, we anticipate returning to flight as early as the November timeframe," SpaceX wrote in the update.
If SpaceX does start flying Falcon 9s again in November, that would amount to just a three-month grounding of the rockets, far shorter than the six months it took for the company to return to flight after the 2015 accident.
The root cause of the accident may also change the amount of time SpaceX has to stand down from launching. If the issue is related to the rocket itself, it's possible the redesign and testing process would force a more extended grounding, while if the problem is traced back to the pad, it might be a quicker fix, industry experts have said.
The investigation itself isn't easy.
The team of experts from NASA, SpaceX, the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Air Force and the aerospace industry hunting for the root cause of the accident has been sifting through videos, audio and photos of the explosion to figure out what happened.
"The timeline of the event is extremely short — from first signs of an anomaly to loss of data is about 93 milliseconds or less than 1/10th of a second," SpaceX stated.
"The majority of debris from the incident has been recovered, photographed, labeled and catalogued, and is now in a hangar for inspection and use during the investigation."
SpaceX is also in the process of analyzing the state of its Launch Complex 40 site, which was damaged during the explosion in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as it works toward getting another launch site, Launch Complex 39A, into working order for November.
SpaceX has a vested interesting in getting its rockets flying as soon as possible post-accident.
The spaceflight company had an incredibly full launch manifest ahead of this explosion, with 18 missions expected to launch in 2016.
SpaceX is also expected to start flying humans to the International Space Station under a contract with NASA at some point in the next year or so, adding to the company's already full plate. Plus, Musk is planning to give a speech next week detailing his ideas about how humans could colonize Mars.
"Getting back to flight safely and reliably is our top priority, and the data gathered from the present investigation will result in an even safer and more reliable vehicle for our customers and partners," SpaceX wrote.
TopicsSpaceXElon Musk
Major earthquake and multiple aftershocks rock central Italy2025-05-01 14:14
放狠話!李瑋鋒:我當年欠薪8個月拿冠軍 看看大連人在幹什麽2025-05-01 12:37
歐冠小組賽解簽:萊萬哈蘭德回家 拜仁巴薩恩怨局2025-05-01 12:36
姆巴佩梅西高薪資成“炸彈” 大巴黎或遭歐足聯嚴懲2025-05-01 12:08
Samsung Galaxy Note7 teardown reveals the magic behind the phone's iris scanner2025-05-01 11:53
放狠話!李瑋鋒 :我當年欠薪8個月拿冠軍 看看大連人在幹什麽2025-05-01 11:52
中超前瞻:泰山三鎮上演冠軍爭奪戰 廣州德比保級死磕2025-05-01 11:45
中超10月或暫停10天賽程麵臨順延 主辦方仍力爭年內完賽2025-05-01 11:44
Katy Perry talks 'Rise,' her next batch of songs, and how to survive Twitter2025-05-01 11:43
VIP看球?利物浦客場慘遭屠戮 太子站樁式防守被噴2025-05-01 11:42
Over 82,000 evacuate as Blue Cut fire rapidly spreads in southern California2025-05-01 14:11
歐冠奪冠賠率:曼城居首大巴黎次席 皇馬僅列第五2025-05-01 14:00
梅西天秀操作 !挑球過人+致命直傳 慘遭姆皇吐餅2025-05-01 13:42
足協杯第二輪對陣揭曉:泰山海牛迎山東德比 大連人對陣浙江2025-05-01 13:39
Watch MTV's Video Music Awards 2016 livestream2025-05-01 13:36
C羅卡塞米羅馬奎爾全首發的結果? 曼聯已經看到了2025-05-01 13:21
中超官方:因疫情防控壓力 中超第16輪5場比賽延期2025-05-01 12:59
真正的首勝 !宋文傑梅開二度廣州城22025-05-01 12:53
17 questions you can answer if you're a good communicator2025-05-01 12:40
高清圖 :利物浦備戰歐冠 克洛普開懷薩拉赫撲克臉2025-05-01 12:22