WASHINGTON — (CNN) Elon Musk is expected to give new details about what caused a SpaceX aircraft to explode en route to the International Space Station last month.
Musk will share new details gleaned from the doomed spacecraft’s data in a phone call with press at 3 p.m. ET.
SpaceX, the Tesla CEO’s private space exploration venture, was scheduled to send the unmanned flight on a cargo mission to the ISS — but the spaceship’s rocket exploded about two minutes after takeoff.
It lost more than 4,000 pounds of research material, provisions for the ISS crew and a new docking adapter for the station.
The failed mission was unprecedented for SpaceX. It has carried out 18 trips to the International Space Station since 2012 under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA.
SpaceX is still investigating the cause of the failure under the supervision of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Before the failed mission, SpaceX was a benchmark for companies looking to develop private space travel. Musk’s spaceship is the first commercial vehicle to ever travel to the ISS.
The company developed the spaceship, dubbed “Dragon,” in a little over four years. It has only carried out unmanned cargo missions — but SpaceX planned to put humans on board from Day 1.
It’s an effort NASA is behind, so it’s poured money into SpaceX — including a $2.6 billion infusion announced last September.
That money prepped SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft for a mission manned by NASA astronauts.
Supply levels at the ISS were approaching concerning levels after the SpaceX mission.
In the months leading up to the June 28 launch, three other private companies tried and failed to send provisions to the ISS.
A mission launched July 3 by the Russian government answered supply concerns. That trip successfully delivered more than 6,100 pounds of food, fuel and supplies to the crew.
The Japanese government has partnered with NASA and Russia to launch another mission to the ISS intended to bring three more crew members to the space station. That’s scheduled for Wednesday.
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