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Launches of Falcon rockets may have to be suspended for six months — source

A Falcon-9 carrying a Dragon cargo vehicle blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 10:21 (17:21 Moscow time) on Sunday. The rocket exploded two and a half minutes later

© AP Photo/John Raoux

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. The United States may suspend the launches of Falcon space rockets for six months following last Sunday’s accident, a source in the Russian space rocket industry has said.

"Nothing is known at this point, but it is not ruled out that Falcons may have to be grounded for up to six months," the source said.

A Falcon-9 carrying a Dragon cargo vehicle blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 10:21 (17:21 Moscow time) on Sunday. The rocket exploded two and a half minutes later. The Dragon was carrying about two tonnes of cargoes, including food, equipment and materials for experiments. It had been expected to return to the Earth several weeks later.

The SpaceX company, which designed and manufactured Falcon and Dragon, believes that a surge in pressure in the rockets’ tanks was to blame.

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