Almost three months had passed since the catastrophic fail on the SpaceX last September. It was due to the helium loading on Falcon 9 rocket.
According to Ars Techina, the effort of the company is paying off and the planned return of flight of SpaceX is making progress. Last Sunday, a Reddit user posted images and a video of the Falcon 9 first-stage flight on Interstate 10 in Arizona.
It is bound for Vandenberg Air Force Base from the company's test facilities in McGregor, Texas in Southern California. This was a booster owned by Iridium, a Virginia-based satellite communications company; it was a launch for 10 satellites.
Iridium's chief executive, Matt Desch tweeted, "Stage 1 arriving in California for our launch. Soon, very soon.".
A beautiful sight. Stage 1 arriving in California for our launch. Soon, very soon... Rainbow was a nice (and fitting) touch! #IridiumNEXT pic.twitter.com/4hOd7IPKv4
— Matt Desch (@IridiumBoss) November 20, 2016
However, Iridium flying first on SpaceX is still uncertain, making companies like Echostar and its own communications satellite do their best for that high-profile launch on SpaceX. The Echostar's launch will be on the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, preparations are still ongoing for their Complex 39A.
SpaceX's official released an official statement on Ars last Monday that there will be no still definitive decisions on the details of the return flight. Even if the Iridium launch could be an option there are still many factors to be considered including rocket testing, launch pad readiness and many more. So it is still early to conclude something out of it.
The launch in 2016 could somehow need a miracle to happen for accidents on recoveries like this could take a year or more. The efforts on doing the return flight from a total loss of its Falcon 9 rocket and AMOS-6 satellite last September in just four months would be a turnaround in this industry.
The company is identifying the causes and addressing its issues and doing their best to convince the customers and government partners that everything will be safe again. We just hope this could be an early Christmas bonus to everyone and the return flight could really happen by the end of 2016. Share your thought on this news on the comment section.
