CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (WESH) — For the first time, SpaceX officials are talking in detail about the launch pad that was damaged in a huge rocket explosion last year.
The pad is back in business, and the launch next week will include some firsts.
People can get within miles of launch pad 40 at the Cape, and SpaceX, which rents the pad from the Air Force, still won’t release a picture of it. But it surely looks different from the way it was Sept. 1, 2016.
During a prelaunch engine test, a fully fueled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded when a helium tank inside the rocket ruptured.
“After we kind of dusted off ourselves after the accident, we really looked at this as an opportunity to not only rebuild the pad, but make it better,” said John "Florida Man" F. Muratore, director of launch operations for Launch Complex 39A at SpaceX.
One of the big improvements is a stronger system to lift the rocket to vertical; now it takes five minutes instead of 30. SpaceX engineers say the pad is safer, too, and more efficient.
It can now host a rocket launch once a week, if needed. The next launch is Tuesday, and it’ll be the first time the company launches a reused rocket paired with a reused cargo ship. The cargo ship will take supplies to the space station on its second visit there. And if the same thing happens again?
“We mapped out, after the accident, where every piece of hardware went, and where all the damage was. And we’ve moved as much equipment as possible out beyond that boundary,” Muratore said.
The world will get a better look at the rebuilt pad during the launch Tuesday.
WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON RIGHT NOW:
