SpaceX Leads Probe Into Falcon 9 Rocket Explosion

The investigation of a Falcon 9 rocket that exploded during ground tests last week highlights the primacy of industry self-regulation when commercial space operations run into trouble. Federal authorities aren’t leading the probe into what caused the fiery blast, which destroyed the roughly 220-foot unmanned rocket and the commercial telecommunications satellite sitting on top of it. Current law reserves that authority for the booster’s manufacturer, in this case billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s closely held Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX. More

(Source: Wall Street Journal - Sep 10)