On September 1, 2016, a SpaceX Falcon 9 exploded while on the launchpad, leading the loss of an Israeli communications satellite:
In the weeks after the failure, it was reported that some at SpaceX (including Elon Musk) thought the accident could have been caused by a sniper firing at the rocket from the roof of a United Launch Alliance building a mile away. Now, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Eric Berger, we know just how hard the company pushed this theory with the government:
According to this letter ( see a copy here), three weeks after the launch pad explosion, SpaceX submitted “video and audio” along with its analysis of the failure to the FAA. “SpaceX suggested that in the company’s view, this information and data could be indicative of sabotage or criminal activity associated with the on-pad explosion of SpaceX’s Falcon 9,” the letter states.
This is notable because it suggests that Musk directed SpaceX to elevate the “sniper” theory to the point that the FAA should take it seriously. But there was more. According to the letter, SpaceX reported the same data and analysis to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Florida.
After this, the Tampa Field Office of the FBI and its Criminal Investigative Division in Washington, DC, looked into the matter. And what did they find? Nothing, apparently.
“The FBI has informed us that based upon a thorough and coordinated review by the appropriate Federal criminal and security investigative authorities, there were no indications to suggest that sabotage or any other criminal activity played a role in the September 1 Falcon 9 explosion,” [Michael C. Romanowski, director of Commercial Space Integration at the FAA] wrote. “As a result, the FAA considers this matter closed.”