Space & Astronomy

SpaceX under fire over rocket fueling process

By T.K. Randall
November 2, 2016 ·  12 comments

Fueling a rocket with the astronauts on board could be disastrous. Image Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann The private space firm suffered a significant setback at the beginning of September when one of its Falcon 9 rockets exploded on the launchpad while it was being fueled.

Last week an official investigation in to the accident indicated that it may have been caused by a pressurized helium container bursting due to an issue with the fueling system.

One of the most significant differences in the way SpaceX fuels its rockets is that it uses extremely cold liquid propellants which have to be loaded immediately prior to launch to enable the vehicle to land again afterwards as part of the firm's reusable rockets program.While this is acceptable for unmanned launches, when it comes to sending humans in to space it means that the astronauts will need to be on board while the fueling process is taking place.

"This is a hazardous operation," said former NASA astronaut and Space Station Advisory Committee Chairman Thomas Stafford who noted that all of NASA's previous rockets which carried humans in to space were fueled up before the astronauts ever set foot on the launchpad.

"Everybody there, and particularly the people who had experience over the years, said nobody is ever near the pad when they fuel a booster."

SpaceX has since stated that it will reassess its fueling and launch procedures depending on the results of its investigation in to September's rocket explosion.

Source: Reuters | Comments (12)

Tags: SpaceX, Rocket