"Still working on the Falcon fireball investigation", SpaceX chief executive officer Elon Musk on Twitter. Originated around upper stage oxygen tank.
The ramifications will extend well beyond SpaceX's walls, says Wayne Hale - an engineer, aerospace consultant, and NASA's former space shuttle program director.
Particularly puzzling, according to Musk, is "the quieter bang" heard right before the fireball. "May come from rocket or something else", .
He also thanked NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Air Force for their help during the investigation.
Last week, SpaceX said it was "in the early process of reviewing approximately 3,000 channels of telemetry and video data covering a time period of just 35-55 milliseconds".
SpaceX is the private spaceflight company run by Musk, the billionaire tech investor who also started PayPal and Tesla Motors.
"Important to note that this happened during a routine filling operation", he said in a .
The Falcon 9 rocket had exploded on the morning of September 1 while at the launch pad at the SpaceX launch facility at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
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Footage captured by the US Launch Report shows the rocket emitting grey smoke, before a huge ball of fire explodes from the top of the Falcon 9 rocket, close to where its fuel is stored.
"It typically takes nine to 12 months for people to return to flight".
Musk, who also is CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA), hopes the company will be able to take people to Mars as soon as 2025. "Turning out to be the most hard and complex failure we have ever had in 14 years", Mr Musk tweeted.
Repairing damage to the launch pad is usually not a significant issue, he said.
Facebook had planned to use the lost satellite - an Israeli-made communications satellite - to expand internet service in Africa.
One user tweeted at him and asked, "there are some videos on YouTube claiming something hit the rocket".
"C$3 ompany-led investigations are standard operating procedure when it comes to launch "mishaps, ' which are legally distinct from launch 'accidents" under USA federal law". So when the fireball erupted, the blaze destroyed the satellite as well as the rocket.
