SpaceX said on Monday it has completed its investigation into the explosive fire that destroyed a rocket on Sept. 1, and added that it will launch again Sunday, with an Iridium satellite payload. Investigators determined that one of the three pressure vessels inside the second-stage liquid oxygen tank failed, SpaceX said in a statement posted on Twitter. “Specifically, the investigation team concluded the failure was likely due to the accumulation of oxygen between the COPV [composite overwrapped pressure vessel] liner and overwrap in a void or a buckle in the liner, leading to ignition and the subsequent failure of the COPV,” the company said. Officials from the FAA, NTSB, and the U.S. Air Force collaborated with SpaceX in the investigation.
The September explosion destroyed the company’s Falcon 9 rocket and the launchpad, as well as the rocket’s cargo, a communications satellite that was to be launched under contract with an Israeli company. The investigative team identified several possible causes that led to the problem, SpaceX said, and all of those possibilities have been addressed. In the long term, the company added, the design of the COPVs will be modified to prevent buckles altogether, which also will allow for faster loading operations. Sunday’s launch will take place from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 4E in California.
