Local officials rally behind SpaceX after failed mission - Monitor
The launch would have been SpaceX’s seventh resupply mission, carrying more than 4,000 pounds of supplies, critical science and research materials, and what would have been the first international docking adapter for commercial crew spacecraft to... In a statement issued Sunday, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the astronauts are safe aboard the station and have sufficient supplies for the next several months. Agencies stated SpaceX will lead the accident investigation with support from NASA and oversight from the Federal Aviation Administration which issued the launch license. SpaceX officials said Sunday preliminary analysis suggests the rocket experienced an overpressure event in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank. Cameron County Judge Pete Sepulveda Jr. said it was an unfortunate event. This also comes as SpaceX’s construction of the world’s first commercial vertical launch site at Boca Chica begins in earnest in the fall. SpaceX’s loss of the Falcon 9 and the Dragon spacecraft came on the heels of two failed launches: Orbital ATK Antares rocket in October 2014 and Russia’s Progress 59 in April. Falcon 9, SpaceX has pointed out, made history in 2012 when it delivered Dragon into the correct orbit for rendezvous with the International Space Station, making SpaceX the first commercial company ever to visit the station. Source: www.themonitor.com
