General Says Air Force Is Deeply Involved In The Investigation

The U.S. Air Force is following the investigation of the malfunction of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket June 28th "extremely closely," and is deeply involved in the process, according to Lieutenant General Samuel Greaves, who heads the Air Force Space and Missiles Systems Center.

Reuters reports that General Greaves said there are "serious concerns about the investigation, which is being led by SpaceX rather than the U.S. government. In remarks at an event hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, Greaves said that the Air Force has been involved in the investigation from its inception. The FAA is overseeing the investigation being conducted by SpaceX.

Lawmakers in a letter dated last Thursday questioned whether the Air Force would decertify SpaceX as a launch provider. In the letter, the lawmakers told NASA and the Air Force that they have "serious concerns" about SpaceX leading the accident investigation. The Air Force has not responded to that inquiry, according to the report. But the Air Force has said repeatedly that they do not plan to decertify SpaceX on the basis of this accident because any launch of an Air Force payload by the company would not come for several years.

Last October, Orbital ATK suffered a malfunction with a rocket boosting a Cygnus cargo vessel to ISS, and is also conducting its own investigation, which is also subject to FAA oversight as it was conducted under an FAA license.

FMI: www.af.mil, www.spacex.com