There are rumours now that SpaceX is focusing its investigating mainly on the possibility of the Falcon 9 explosion being an act of sabotage.
An unnamed industry official reported that in the explosion footage, the investigative team noticed an “odd shadow and then a white spot” on the roof of a building nearby just before the blast. The building is incidentally owned by one of their competitor United Launch Alliance (ULA), making this observation all the more sensitive.
The footage showing the observation is being kept a secret for now, as is all other evidence since a formal investigation is underway. But there have been reports that SpaceX employees did try to investigate and search the building themselves, only to be denied by the authorities. ULA responded that US Air Force investigators have already done an investigation on the roof and they found nothing suspicious.
Particularly trying to understand the quieter bang sound a few seconds before the fireball goes off. May come from rocket or something else.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2016
Elon Musk has been on record calling the explosion “the most difficult and complex failure we have ever had in 14 years”.
Last week, he said to the International Astronautical Congress, “We’ve eliminated all of the obvious possibilities for what occurred there. So what remains are the less probable answers.”
Still working on the Falcon fireball investigation. Turning out to be the most difficult and complex failure we have ever had in 14 years.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2016
He was also spotted not ruling out an intervention from the outer space, which also became the source of many intriguing comments. The explosion is hard to judge since the explosion occurred when the engines were not even turned on, and the rocket was undergoing a routine tank filling. SpaceX till yet hasn’t been able to identify a heat source for the explosion, making matters more complicated.
Important to note that this happened during a routine filling operation. Engines were not on and there was no apparent heat source.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2016
Musk has also called on the public investigators as well as NASA, the Air Force, and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to help out with the investigation. The speculations that ULA might be in some way involved rises from the fact that SpaceX has essentially been the only major competitor for ULA since its launch.
Also, the letter written to the Pentagon by ULA chief executive Tory Bruno asking them to reconsider using more affordable SpaceX due to safety concerns have further fueled the fire.
But until any evidence is publicly released and proved in the court of law, all these will remain just rumours. What are your thoughts on this new theory of sabotage being the reason behind the explosion? Comment below!