New Video Of SpacX’s Falcon 9 Rocket Explosion Points To Sabotage

Remember when SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket inexplicably exploded into a million pieces on the launch [...]

By Brent McCluskey

Remember when SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket inexplicably exploded into a million pieces on the launch pad? Elon Musk called it "the most difficult and complex failure we have ever had in 14 years." Now, industry officials believe a saboteur may be behind it all.

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(Photo: Science Alert)

In an effort to understand their failure, SpaceX relentlessly reviewed the events leading up to the explosion. They watched video of their rocket erupt into a fireball over and over and over again. Then, someone noticed an "odd shadow and then a white spot" on the roof of a nearby building - a building owned by long-standing competitor United Launch Alliance (ULA).

The "odd shadow" alone isn't proof their rocket was sabotaged, but SpaceX has launched a full-scale investigation into the matter. When they first discovered the anomaly, one SpaceX employee tried entering the ULA building, but was denied access.

While Musk won't come right out and directly say he thinks his missile was sabotaged, he's made statements that allude to the possibility. He's also keeping the video of the "odd shadow" under wraps.

"We've eliminated all of the obvious possibilities for what occurred there," Musk said. "So what remains are the less probable answers."

The ULA had monopoly on US government security contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and they were the only launch provider the Air Force would certify. That is, until SpaceX came along and ruined it for them.

SpaceX sued the Air Force for their right to compete in the industry space and won, siphoning off untold millions from ULA.

Is there reason for the ULA to want SpaceX to fail? Absolutely. Does that mean they sabotaged their Falcon 9 rocket? Only time will tell.

[ H/T Science Alert ]

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