Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is citing an anomaly around the upper stage oxygen tank for an explosion Thursday on the company’s launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
SpaceX said on Twitter that the anomaly occurred during propellant loading of the vehicle. An explosion occurred, resulting in the total loss of both the launch vehicle and the payload set to be launched early Saturday morning: Spacecom’s AMOS-6 satellite.
The anomaly took place at approximately 9:07 a.m. EDT during a standard pre-launch static fire test, SpaceX said. Per standard operating procedure, all personnel were clear of the pad and there were no injuries.
This is the second launch failure in 14 months for SpaceX. Its last failure took place June 28, 2015, after liftoff for a NASA Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission (Defense Daily; June 29, 2015). SpaceX successfully completed eight missions this year and nine since last year’s launch failure. It took SpaceX six months to return to launch following last year’s failure.
SES recently announced it would be the first customer to fly on a used Falcon 9 first stage. Company spokesman Markus Payer said Thursday the company isn’t having second thoughts and that it continues to work closely with SpaceX. SES’s confidence likely stems from Thursday’s anomaly happening near the upper stage as opposed to the first stage. SES was also SpaceX’s first commercial customer.
Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (AFSMC) chief Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves said Thursday on Twitter he “briefly” spoke with someone at SpaceX after the anomaly. He said SMC is poised and prepared to support SpaceX’s recovery and return to flight. Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Mary Danner Jones said Thursday the service would have a statement, but it did not arrive by press time.
Though it was in preparation for a commercial mission, Thursday’s failure will certainly impact the defense community. The Air Force has a request for proposals (RFP) for its latest launch competition, Global Positioning System III-3 (GPS III-3). The Air Force desperately wants competition for its upcoming mission, but United Launch Alliance (ULA) declined to bid on GPS III-2 for a variety of reasons. ULA is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Boeing [BA].
Michael Listner, principal with Space Law and Policy Solutions in New Hampshire, believes Thursday’s failure will spur ULA to lobby the Air Force to deprioritize cost in upcoming competitions while possibly emphasizing safety and other factors.
“They’re probably going to make that pitch behind the scenes to get the contract parameters adjusted a little bit in their favor,” Listner said.