Musk Said On National Television It Was A 'Really Surprising Problem'

SpaceX may have finally solved the mystery of what caused a Falcon 9 rocket to explode in early September, resulting in the loss of the booster and its satellite payload.

But company founder Elon Musk is playing the explanation close to the vest.

Engadget reports that Musk appeared on CNBC last week that, and said that it appeared that the issue was with one of three carbon fiber helium tanks that are located inside the main fuel tank. It appears that the liquid oxygen froze solid as it was transferred to the rocket's second stage, which set off a chain of explosions.

Musk said that the issue was a "really surprising problem that's never been encountered before in the history of rocketry."

But more details were not forthcoming from the interview. He said that the factors involved were a combination of "liquid helium, advanced carbon fiber composites" and "oxygen so cold it actually enters the solid phase."

The next planned SpaceX resupply mission to ISS has already been rescheduled with competitor Orbital ATK. But with this latest finding, SpaceX still hopes to be back to flight status in mid December.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.spacex.com