Elon Musk calls SpaceX blast a 'most difficult, complex failure'
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SpaceX founder and chief Elon Musk said on Friday he was unsure why one of the company's Falcon rockets burst into flames on its Florida launch pad last week, destroying both the rocket and an Israeli communications satellite it was due to lift into orbit.
"Still working on the Falcon fireball investigation. Turning out to be the most difficult and complex failure we have ever had in 14 years," Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who is also the chief executive of Telsa Motors, wrote on Twitter.
A SpaceX-led accident investigation is underway, overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration's Commercial Space Transportation office.
A massive fireball enveloped the rocket on Sept. 1 as it was being fueled for a routine test of its first stage. The rocket was scheduled to blast off two days later.
The rocket's nine engines had not yet ignited for a test firing when a fireball engulfed the upper stage. "There was no apparent heat source," Musk said on Friday.
