Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) on Friday said it hopes to fly Falcon 9 by the end of the year, pending the results into its investigation into early September’s anomaly.
The company said it narrowed its investigation to one of the three composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPV) inside the liquid oxygen tank. SpaceX said it can re-create a COPV failure entirely through helium loading conditions.
These conditions, the company said, are mainly affected by the temperature and pressure of the helium being loaded. On Sept. 23, SpaceX said preliminary review of data and debris suggested a large breach in the cryogenic helium system of the second stage liquid oxygen tank took place. The root cause of the breach has not been confirmed.
SpaceX’s efforts are now focused on two areas: finding the exact root cause and developing improved helium loading conditions that allow SpaceX to reliably load Falcon 9. With the advanced state of the investigation, SpaceX also plans to resume stage testing in Texas in the coming days while continuing to focus on competing the investigation. The company’s launch sites at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; and Vandenberg AFB, Calif.; remain on track to be operational by the end of 2016.
Commercial space advocate and industry consultant Rand Simberg said Monday the update shows that SpaceX is reaching a point at which it will have sufficient confidence to fly, with different loading procedures, even if it is never certain about exactly why the anomaly happened. SpaceX can’t stay grounded indefinitely, he said, or else the company is out of business.