This would be OK if Space-X had fixed their problems with the Falcon 9.  Space-X has been very quiet - they haven&#x27;t issued a news release for almost four months now.  There&#x27;s still no date for the next launch. Spaceflight Now said &quot;early November&quot; in an article back in September[1], but that date has come and gone.  There&#x27;s &quot;TBD&quot; launch date in December, but that&#x27;s probably not realistic.<p>The Falcon 9 explosion, Space-X claims, was due to a strut being far under-strength.  When they tested their inventory of struts made by a contractor, some failed at 20% of the rated load. Space-X hasn&#x27;t provided further details. They claim to be &quot;tightening up their supply chain&quot;.  That probably means requiring 100% traceability of every structural part back to the raw material and much more testing at incoming inspection. This is standard in aviation (which is why structural failure airplane crashes of production aircraft are very rare) but something Space-X wasn&#x27;t doing.<p>One wonders what other problems they&#x27;ve found as they put part after part through strength tests. Probably more than they&#x27;ve admitted, or they&#x27;d be launching by now.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;spaceflightnow.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;09&#x2F;01&#x2F;falcon-9-rocket-to-be-grounded-longer-than-expected&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;spaceflightnow.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;09&#x2F;01&#x2F;falcon-9-rocket-to-be-g...</a>