The Return to Flight: SpaceX Launches Again

There is a return that happened this week, and the return is the flight: the Falcon 9 that lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Saturday, the first launch for SpaceX since the pad explosion in September, the mission that carried ten Iridium NEXT satellites toward orbit, the company that came back from its worst failure. The launch happened on January 14, four months after the Amos-6 accident destroyed a satellite and grounded the fleet, and the landing followed minutes later: the first stage settling onto the droneship in the Pacific, the booster that came home. The return to flight is the January 2017 story, and the story is the lesson: the failure that was investigated, the cause that was found, the fix that was proven in a single mission.

The return is the subject of this article: what blew up on the pad, what the four-month investigation found, what the fix was, and what the landing means for the industry.

1. The Explosion on the Pad

The explosion is the origin, and the origin is the pad: the static fire that was scheduled for September 1, the Falcon 9 that stood on Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, the fueling that was underway, the blast that destroyed the rocket and the satellite on top of it. The explosion is the September fact: the AMOS-6 satellite that was lost, the payload that belonged to Spacecom of Israel, the launch that was meant to follow within days, the pad that was damaged, the fleet that was grounded. The explosion is the 2016 moment: the failure that came during the routine test, the rocket that blew up without warning, the schedule that stopped, the industry that watched.

The explosion is also the context: the SpaceX that had flown the missions, that had landed the boosters, that had promised the rapid cadence, that now faced the first pad failure in its history. The explosion is the September 2016 meaning: the satellite that was worth the hundreds of millions, the customers who waited, the insurers who paid, the questions that multiplied. The explosion on the pad was the setback, and the setback was the test.

2. The Four-Month Investigation

The investigation is the work, and the work is the silence: the weeks that followed the blast, the telemetry that was recovered, the debris that was examined, the teams that were assembled. The investigation is the process: SpaceX working with the Federal Aviation Administration, with the Air Force, with NASA, the experts who were brought in, the hypotheses that were tested, the theories that were eliminated one by one. The investigation is the patience: the months of October and November and December, the updates that were rare, the launch dates that slipped, the industry that waited for the answer.

The investigation is also the finding: the breach in the second stage, the helium tank that failed inside the liquid oxygen tank, the cryogenic helium system with the composite overwrapped pressure vessels, the struts that buckled, the oxygen that ignited, the explosion that followed. The investigation is the January announcement: the root cause that was identified in the first days of the month, the fix that was designed, the return to flight that was set for January 8, the date that slipped to January 14. The four-month investigation was the discipline, and the discipline was the answer.

3. The Fix

The fix is the change, and the change is the design: the struts that were replaced, the loading procedure that was altered, the helium that is now loaded differently, the pressures and the temperatures that are managed, the conditions that are avoided. The fix is the engineering: the root cause that was announced, the corrective actions that were described, the tests that were run, the static fire that was completed, the rocket that was cleared to fly. The fix is the honesty: the company that named the failure, that explained the mechanism, that showed the work, that did not hide behind the mystery.

The fix is also the proof: the static fire that went well, the launch that was attempted, the mission that had to work, the credibility that was on the line. The fix is the January 2017 lesson: the failures that are found, the causes that are understood, the corrections that are tested, the confidence that is rebuilt one flight at a time. The fix is the difference between the company that repeats the mistake and the company that learns from it. The fix was the bridge, and the bridge was the flight.

4. The Launch

The launch is the moment, and the moment is the pad: the Falcon 9 that lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the morning of January 14, the Space Launch Complex 4E, the climb through the fog, the stage separation, the second stage that burned toward orbit. The launch is the mission: the Iridium-1 flight, the ten satellites that were released, the first batch of the Iridium NEXT constellation, the deployment that went as planned, the contact that was confirmed. The launch is the relief: the first Falcon 9 flight since September, the return to the air, the manifest that restarted.

The launch is also the business: the Iridium contract that is worth three billion dollars, the seventy-five satellites that are planned, the sixty-six that will form the operational constellation, the spares that will wait in orbit, the launches that will follow through the year. The launch is the January 14 meaning: the rocket that worked, the payloads that deployed, the company that was back, the customers that were reassured, the backlog that will begin to clear. The launch was the return, and the return was the proof.

5. The Landing

The landing is the payoff, and the payoff is the ocean: the first stage that fell back to Earth, the engines that reignited, the grid fins that steered, the droneship that waited, the Just Read the Instructions barge in the Pacific. The landing is the second act: the booster that slowed, that hovered, that touched down on the deck, that stayed upright, the success that capped the mission. The landing is the January 14 image: the rocket that came home, the recovery ship that followed, the booster that will be examined, the reuse that will come.

The landing is also the strategy: the rockets that are meant to fly again, the costs that are meant to fall, the industry that is meant to change, the future that SpaceX is building. The landing is the 2017 lesson: the failure that was investigated, the flight that was executed, the booster that was recovered, the model that was demonstrated in a single mission. The landing was the payoff, and the payoff was the point.

6. Why Reuse Matters

The reuse is the economics, and the economics is the cost: the booster that is the most expensive part of the launch, the hardware that is thrown away in the old model, the stage that can be refurbished, the price that can fall, the market that can grow. The reuse is the SpaceX argument: the sixty-two million dollar price for a Falcon 9, the bids that undercut the incumbents, the United Launch Alliance that restructured, the Arianespace that felt the pressure, the Russian launches that lost the commercial business. The reuse is the disruption: the company that flies more, that charges less, that treats the rocket like an aircraft.

The reuse is also the risk: the boosters that must be inspected, the landings that must be repeated, the refurbishment that must be cheap, the reliability that must be proven, the customers that must be convinced. The reuse is the January 2017 lesson: the industry that is being remade by the company that reuses, the incumbents that are responding, the new entrants that are watching, the economics that are shifting. The reuse matters because the cost matters, and the cost matters because the market is the future.

7. The Satellite Market

The market is the constellation, and the constellation is the plan: the Iridium NEXT satellites that will replace the aging Iridium fleet, the seventy-five that are ordered, the ten that flew on Saturday, the launches that will continue, the network that will cover the planet. The market is the Iridium story: the company that nearly died, that was rescued by the investors, that bet on the new network, that signed the three billion dollar contract with SpaceX, that will launch through 2018. The market is the momentum: the operators that are watching, the broadband constellations that are being planned, the launch capacity that will be needed.

The market is also the change: the launch costs that are falling, the access that is widening, the constellations that are becoming possible, the space that is opening up. The market is the January 2017 lesson: the return to flight that unblocks the backlog, the customers that were waiting, the missions that will follow, the cadence that must be kept. The satellite market was the reason, and the reason was the flight.

8. The Lesson for Engineers

The lesson is the method, and the method is the investigation: the failure that is studied, the cause that is found, the fix that is tested, the flight that is earned. The lesson is the SpaceX example: the company that admitted the problem, that worked with the regulators, that did not launch until the answer was known, that came back with the mission and the landing. The lesson is the engineering culture: the telemetry that is trusted, the data that is examined, the anomalies that are taken seriously, the testing that is never skipped.

The lesson is also the perspective: the failures that will happen, the systems that will break, the teams that will be judged by the response, the recovery that is the real work. The return to flight is the January 2017 story, and the story is the lesson: the rocket that exploded, the cause that was found, the fix that was flown, the booster that came home. The pad failure was the beginning, and the landing was the proof.

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