SpaceX has set a target date for its return to space since a Falcon rocket exploded on a Space Coast launch pad in early September.

  • SpaceX targeting mid-December for return to space
  • Rocket exploded at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in September

The company is planning to launch a Falcon rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Dec. 16, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

Iridium Communications Inc. said Thursday that 10 of its satellites will be aboard the Falcon.

According to the AP, the Federal Aviation Administration must first sign off on the investigation into the explosion, which SpaceX said was almost complete.

A Falcon rocket exploded in a massive fireball Sept. 1 during a test firing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, destroying it and a $200 million communications satellite and damaging the launch pad. The fire created a huge plume of smoke that showed up on weather radar.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.