SpaceX 'Return to Flight' Delayed to January 2017 -- Is Elon Musk's Company Still Profitable?

The year is almost over but Elon Musk's SpaceX is still haunted by the Falcon 9 explosion last Sept. 1. Iridium, a SpaceX client, recently announced that the company's "Return to Flight" would be this coming Dec. 16, but reports say that the flight was moved to January 2017. With the recent development, financial experts now ask whether or not the company is still profitable due to the mishap.

SpaceX will have to procure a permit from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) before flying another rocket to space. This could be acquired by presenting the final investigation result as to what caused the Falcon 9 explosion last Sept. 1. The FAA expects a final investigation result from SpaceX this month subject for review to determine the cause of the explosion.

However, it seems like SpaceX is not ready to give its final paper yet as Elon Musk's commercial space flight company asked for more time. The company will try to launch its "Return to Flight" rocket in Jan. 2017, according to a report.

SpaceX appeared to have sorted out the explosion "anomaly" since one of its clients, Iridium set to launch 20 satellites to space, announced that SpaceX "Return to Flight" launch will take place on Dec. 16. However, it doesn't look like it will push through this year.

The Falcon 9 explosion destroyed the Falcon 9 rocket and a Facebook satellite; both cost millions of dollars to build. After the incident, a 3-month suspension was imposed to SpaceX. Today, financial experts are worried if SpaceX is still "profitable" under the circumstances that it is facing today.

Speculations started spreading when a business news page pointed it out that the SpaceX removed the "profitable and cash-flow positive" clause from its website. Before that, the company's official site boasts of the number of launches and dropping hints about its profitability.

However, since the private company is not required by SEC to divulge its revenues, profits and losses no one can tell for sure whether or not the company is losing money at an alarming rate. Reports say the company's backlogs might already cost billions of dollars.