You might be tempted to agree swapping shoes with Elon Musk if you only looked at his bank account, but being the CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX is no easy task.
Previously, it used to be the former that gave Musk sleepless nights because of all the issues that had arisen with its Autopilot feature, but now the SpaceX program is quickly catching up, it seems. After successful launches and landings on both land and sea, it appeared that the Falcon 9 rocket had found its groove and was ready to be used on a regular basis.
Given its reusability and relatively low costs, the Falcon 9 is looking like the perfect tool for launching satellites into space. That's certainly what SES, an international communications satellite operator based in Luxembourg, must have though after the successful SES 9 mission earlier this year - well, the Falcon 9 didn't stick the landing perfectly, but that was SpaceX's problem.
The same two companies were supposed to work together again to place the SES 10 television relay into orbit with the first ever launch of a reused "flight-proven" Falcon 9 rocket. The launch was supposed to take place this coming Saturday and would involve the same rocket that had made a successful landing at Cape Canaveral in Florida in mid-July.
However, reports of a very powerful explosion that shook the nearby buildings coming from people in the area suggest that a Falcon 9 rocket exploded while standing on the launching pad. At this moment, it's not clear whether it's the same rocket that completed the previous mission and was supposed to be used again on Saturday.
If that proves to be the case, it couldn't have come at a worse time for SpaceX. The company had been looking for a customer that would agree to put a satellite aboard a previously-flown booster, and it looked like SES would end this search.
Even more, a successful mission would have given others the confidence to follow suit. If all the details about the explosion are confirmed, then it would probably mark a significant setback for SpaceX. But surely not one that it won't be able to overcome.
You can check out the actual explosion caught on film:
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