The Falcon did not land Sunday morning.
Just three short days after P&P Optica announced that their spectrometer would be hitching a ride on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station, the world watched the rocket break apart moments after liftoff.
Officials are still investigating the cause of Sunday morning’s explosion off Cape Canaveral, Fla.
P&P Optica, a Waterloo-based company that builds devices to measure light signatures emitted by compounds and elements, had been looking forward to stretching the capabilities of its equipment.
“We were pretty disappointed [in the destruction of the rocket],” said Kevin Turnbull,VP Sales for the company. “Of course [we were] grateful that there was no loss of life given that it was an unmanned rocket.”
The P&P team is focused on the next mission and looks forward to supporting the future of space-based research.
“As a technology company we understand that pushing the boundaries of technology comes with challenges and it's those that persevere who ultimately succeed,” Turnbull said. “As a result, we remain committed to being part of a future mission if given the opportunity.”
