Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is due to submit a preliminary investigation report into the September crash that destroyed the Falcon 9 spacecraft on the launch pad to US federal authorities in early December.

Presumably, the cause of the fire and explosion of the rocket was a failure during the fuel refueling process during ground testing. Sources close to SpaceX say the report is part of the company's plan to resume launches by the end of 2016. The company is being assisted in its investigation by experts from several government agencies. However, to actually return to launches, SpaceX must present final results no later than three weeks later. The company will have to convince the government that the incident will not happen again during the new launch.

The researchers believe that as a result of a complex interaction between the supercooled fuel and the carbon composite material covering the outside of the helium containers, a hole appeared in one of the containers. Engineers are trying to accurately recreate the combination of pressure, temperature, fuel level and other parameters at which the disaster occurred. All design and quality control details are also analyzed, but the main version relates what happened to performance characteristics. “We are completing the investigation and related report with the intention of returning to flight in December,” SpaceX said in a recent statement.

Tired of launches

$10 billion contracts for approximately the same amount for launching spacecraft should be fulfilled by SpaceX

In this case, the planned launch schedule will differ little from the one the company followed in 2015, also after the Falcon 9 accident. That time, the rocket exploded two minutes after launch. A preliminary report was then submitted to regulators in November, and launches resumed in December.

However, now the investigation into the possible causes of the incident lasted several weeks longer. Musk, the founder and chief executive of the company, where he also serves as chief technology officer, admits that the current investigation has proven to be "the most difficult and complex in its entire 14-year history." It appears that SpaceX management is confident that government agencies will be satisfied with the results of the investigation and will allow the launches.

However, some experts doubt that everything will go so smoothly. First, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must agree with the findings of the final report detailing what happened in September. NASA, which has entered into long-term contracts with SpaceX for the delivery of cargo and then astronauts to the ISS, must also agree. So far, these organizations have not commented on the status of the investigation. NASA has said it is involved in the investigation but is willing to delay the next ISS launch until early 2017.

The launch schedule under SpaceX contracts with government and corporate customers was already disrupted by the time of the September accident, and now the situation has become even more complicated. Due to repeated delays, some commercial satellite operators are already outsourcing orders to alternative aerospace companies.

NASA's inspector general has criticized the selection of the team leading the SpaceX crash investigation. It is headed by SpaceX Vice President Hans Koenigsmann, and the official suspects a conflict of interest.

Translated by Alexander Silonov

SpaceX may resume space flights in December