Sign In
Search
Space

SpaceX Investigation Finds Failed Strut Caused Falcon 9 Explosion

Valerie Insinna
SHARE:
SpaceX Investigation Finds Failed Strut Caused Falcon 9 Explosion

The failed launch this June of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket (Defense Daily, June 29) was likely caused by a strut in the second stage liquid oxygen tank, which broke free during flight, said the company’s CEO and chief rocket designer Elon Musk. After the strut failed, the highly-pressurized helium bottle it was securing shot to the top of the tank at high speed, leading to the rocket explosion just two minutes after launch.The stainless steel strut was designed to handle…

Subscriber-only content. Please log in below.

Not a subscriber or registered user yet?

Please contact us at clientservices@accessintel.com or call us at 888-707-5814 (Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET.), to start a free trial, get pricing information, order a reprint, or post an article link on your website.

Recommended

Army

As Army’s Planned ISV Buy Grows To 12,000 Vehicles, GM Defense Exec Sees Potential To ‘Double That’

Navy/USMC

Navy Tests Drone Without GPS To Land On Moving Ships

Nuclear Modernization

HII Wins $56 Million Navy Contract For AUKUS Submarine Design Work

Nuclear Modernization

Air Force Tests Unarmed ICBM Reentry Vehicle

Trending

BAE Systems Unveils Prototype High Power Microwave System For Killing Drone Swarms
RTX Unveils New Rocket Motor-Powered Variant Of Coyote Drone Interceptor
Sikorsky Developing ‘Black Hawk Next’ As A Follow-On to UH-60M
GD To Deliver All XM30 Prototypes By Late November, Tracks Downselect Decision In Spring 2027
Space Force Successfully Launches Northrop Grumman’s First Plane Of Transport Layer Satellites

Congress Updates

Budget

Hegseth Pushes For Reconciliation With At Least $350 Billion For Defense ‘Regardless’ Of Midterms Outcome

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday the Trump administration plans to continue its push for at least $350 billion in defense funds via the reconciliation process “regardless of what happens […]

Congress

Bipartisan Push in Senate to Hasten Export of 155 mm, GMLRS, HIMARS for Ukraine

A small, bipartisan group of senators is backing the Fast Tracking European Investment in Ukraine’s Defense Act, S. 5175, to hasten the export of allied buys of U.S. munitions for […]

Congress

Rep. Himes Signals Increased Contractor Oversight, if Democrats Win House

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, plans to increase the committee’s contractor oversight if the Democrats win control of the House […]

Congress

CBO Estimates Loss of One-Half to Two-Thirds of U.S. Missile Interceptors Since June Last Year

A new Congressional Budget Office report estimates the cost of the Iran war through Aug. 1 as $38 billion and says that the U.S. has likely depleted between one-half and […]

The Force Multipliers

Force Multipliers

Michael Harrison – SANS Institute

Force Multipliers

Michael DiOrio – Dataminr

Force Multipliers

Arne Brinck – Dark Wolf Solutions

Force Multipliers

Jags Kandasamy – Latent AI

Job Feed

Post a Job // Post a Resume