Current Events > Error caused the SpaceX Falcon 9 spacecraft failure in 2015 *link*

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WASHINGTON A NASA investigation into a 2015 SpaceX launch failure concluded a design flaw, rather than a manufacturing defect, likely initiated the chain of events that destroyed the vehicle.

NASA released March 12 a public summary of the report by an independent review team convened by NASA after the June 2015 accident during the launch of a Dragon cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station, a mission known as CRS-7. That investigation was performed by NASAs Launch Services Program at the request of the agencys associate administrator for human exploration and operations, Bill Gerstenmaier, in parallel with SpaceXs own investigation into the failure.

In that failure, the vehicle suffered an anomalous event in the second stage liquid oxygen tank 139 seconds after liftoff, causing the vehicle to break apart. The investigation was a challenge, NASA noted in its report, because the accident happened so quickly, with no sign of obviously degrading or trending conditions prior to the event.

In other words, the report stated, the vehicle went from flying fine to conflagration in less than a second, or within a blink of an eye.'