SpaceX’s scheduled resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) last night (28 June) failed after the Falcon 9 rocket plunged into the sea.
Following a nominal lift-off, Falcon 9 experienced a problem shortly before first stage shutdown, according to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
“Preliminary analysis suggests the vehicle experienced an overpressure event in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank approximately 139 seconds into flight,” the company explains in a statement. “Telemetry indicates first stage flight was nominal and that Dragon remained healthy for some period of time following separation.
“Our teams are reviewing data to determine root cause and we will be able to provide more information following a thorough fault tree analysis.”
The company has already sent seven successful missions to the ISS, including six official resupply missions for NASA.
Last night’s launch, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, was to be the seventh official commercial resupply (CRS) mission to the orbiting laboratory.