• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Space X

SpaceX Aims to Resume Launches in November

By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 13, 2016, 6:10 PM ET
SpaceX: The Privately Funded Aerospace Company Founded By Elon Musk
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL - MAY 5: In this handout provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket sits on the launching pad with the JCSAT-14 communications satellite on May 5, 2016 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images)Photograph courtesy of NASA via Getty Images

SpaceX is aiming to resume flights in November following a launch pad fire that destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket and an Israeli communications satellite it was due to lift into orbit, the company’s president said on Tuesday.

The space services company suspended Falcon 9 flights while it investigates why the rocket burst into flames on Sept. 1 as it was being fueled for a routine prelaunch test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

“We’re anticipating  being down for about three months, getting back to flight in the November timeframe,” Gwynne Shotwell, president of Elon Musk’s space company, said at a satellite industry conference in Paris.

A video clip of Shotwell’s comments was posted on YouTube.

Shotwell did not elaborate on what repairs to the rocket, if any, would be needed for SpaceX (SPACEX) to return to flight in November. The company also has not said how much damage the blast caused to the launch pad and ground support equipment. The accident destroyed the $200 million satellite owned by Israel’s Space Communication.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

SpaceX previously said a nearly-completed second launch site in Florida, located at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), would be finished in November. The pad was last used to launch NASA’s space shuttles five years ago.

NASA on Tuesday said it had no reservations about SpaceX flying at KSC.

“We’re confident that SpaceX will understand and recover from what happened,” Tom Engler, KSC deputy director of Center Planning and Development, told Reuters. “From our perspective, (the accident) changed nothing as far as our planning and implementation activities are concerned.”

For more on SpaceX, watch:

A source familiar with SpaceX’s plans said the first flight from the KSC launch pad would be a Falcon 9 rocket, not the debut flight of Falcon Heavy, as previously scheduled. The Falcon Heavy, a 27-engine version of the nine-engine Falcon 9, would most likely fly in the first quarter of 2017.

The customer for SpaceX’s return-to-flight mission has not yet been named. Before the accident, the next satellite slated to fly aboard a Falcon 9 from Florida was owned by Luxembourg-based SES SA. The company could not immediately be reached for comment.

SpaceX’s west coast launch site, located at Vandenberg Air Force in California, also would be ready to support a launch in the November timeframe, the source said.

Before the accident, SpaceX had been targeting a September launch from California for Iridium Communications.

SpaceX has a backlog of more than 70 missions, worth more than $10 billion. Before the Sept. 1 accident, Falcon 9 rockets had flown 27 times successfully and failed once.

About the Author
By Reuters
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Personal Financemortgages
Current mortgage rates report for Dec. 3, 2025: Rates fluctuate slightly upward
By Glen Luke FlanaganDecember 3, 2025
16 minutes ago
Personal FinanceReal Estate
Current ARM mortgage rates report for Dec. 3, 2025
By Glen Luke FlanaganDecember 3, 2025
16 minutes ago
Personal FinanceReal Estate
Current refi mortgage rates report for Dec. 3, 2025
By Glen Luke FlanaganDecember 3, 2025
16 minutes ago
InnovationBrainstorm Design
Video games can teach designers deeper lessons than ‘high score streaks’ and gamification
By Angelica AngDecember 3, 2025
2 hours ago
CryptoCryptocurrency
Binance names cofounder Yi He as new co-CEO
By Jeff John RobertsDecember 3, 2025
2 hours ago
LawInternet
A Supreme Court decision could put your internet access at risk. Here’s who could be affected
By Dave Lozo and Morning BrewDecember 2, 2025
11 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Ford workers told their CEO 'none of the young people want to work here.' So Jim Farley took a page out of the founder's playbook
By Sasha RogelbergNovember 28, 2025
5 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Warren Buffett used to give his family $10,000 each at Christmas—but when he saw how fast they were spending it, he started buying them shares instead
By Eleanor PringleDecember 2, 2025
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Elon Musk says he warned Trump against tariffs, which U.S. manufacturers blame for a turn to more offshoring and diminishing American factory jobs
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 2, 2025
15 hours ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
MacKenzie Scott's $19 billion donations have turned philanthropy on its head—why her style of giving actually works
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
22 hours ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
17 hours ago
placeholder alt text
AI
More than 1,000 Amazon employees sign open letter warning the company's AI 'will do staggering damage to democracy, our jobs, and the earth’
By Nino PaoliDecember 2, 2025
23 hours ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.