Elon Musk said an initial investigation into the failure of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket last month points to a two-foot-long, inch-thick strut in a liquid oxygen tank that snapped. Musk, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, also said that SpaceX has become “a little bit complacent” as it has grown in size, since the vast majority of current employees have only known successful launches.
“The part that failed was from a supplier. It was not made at SpaceX,” said Musk, who declined to name the supplier. “The strut failed five times below its normal strength, which is crazy.”
