Quote from Elon:
“We are close to figuring it out. It might have been formation of solid
oxygen in the carbon over-wrap of one of the bottles in the upper stage
tanks. If it was liquid it would have been squeezed out but under pressure
it could have ignited with the carbon. This is the leading theory right
now, but it is subject to confirmation. The other thing we discovered is
that we can exactly replicate what happened on the launch pad if someone
shoots the rocket. We don’t think that is likely this time around, but we
are definitely going to have to take precautions against that in the
future. We looked at who would want to blow up a SpaceX rocket. That turned
out to be a long list. I think it is unlikely this time, but it is
something we need to recognize as a real possibility in the future.”
Discuss.
Charlie
