SpaceX founder Elon Musk recently confirmed that the firm was forced to delay the launch of its rocket until January 2017. Musk added that an ongoing investigation regarding the incident in September, when one of its rockets exploded on its launch pad, prompted the delay.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket was supposed to bring the Iridium-1 satellite into orbit. Iridium even hinted that the launch will push through as early as Dec. 16. However, SpaceX dismissed this rumor saying that the company will be using the extra time in order to prep its rocket and perform some more tests to make sure that the next flight will go according to plan, the Engadget reported.

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It was reported earlier this month that SpaceX is planning to launch a Falcon 9 rocket on Dec. 10 carrying 10 satellites into orbit for Iridium Communications. However, the launch was not approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency that oversees commercial space transportation in the United States.

SpaceX said that the company is also working with investigators to get to the bottom of the issue regarding the September incident, when its rocket exploded on launch.

In a statement, SpaceX said, "We are finalizing the investigation into our September 1 anomaly and are working to complete the final steps necessary to safely return to flight, now in early January."

According to Reuters, one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets exploded during a routine pre-launch test in Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX said that the explosion came from a fuelling system error in the rocket's pressurized fuel container. The accident destroyed a $200 million satellite owned by the Space Communication, an Israeli communications satellite operator.

TagsSpaceX, Spacex Rocket, spacex falcon 9, Falcon 9, falcon 9 rocket, spacex rockets