The Falcon 9 rocket. (image courtesy of SpaceX.)

SpaceX, one of the few companies vying to usher in the age of commercial space flight, appears to be experiencing another setback after an assessment by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), which provides auditing, evaluation and investigative services for Congress.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the GAO have found "persistent cracking of vital propulsion-system components" in SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. More specifically, the Falcon 9’s turbofans, which spin fuel down from its containment tank to the engines, have a tendency to crack.

Since hearing this news, SpaceX spokesperson John Taylor has stated “We have qualified our engines to be robust to turbine wheel cracks.” Taylor qualified that response by adding, “However, we are modifying the design to avoid them altogether. This will be part of the final design iteration on Falcon 9. SpaceX has established a plan in partnership with NASA to qualify engines for [crewed] spaceflight.”

Although the GAO’s report is only preliminary, and a full report will be released in coming weeks, even these early findings are troubling, to say the least. Given the critical nature of every rocket component, the GAO’s assessment of the Falcon 9 launch system could push back SpaceX’s plan for a manned launch in 2018.

If there is a silver lining in the announcement for SpaceX, it’s that NASA’s acting administrator, Robert Lightfoot, is confident that between the Agency and SpaceX, “we know how to fix them.”

Leaving no stone unturned, the GAO also announced that NASA’s planned crewed missions that would rely on Boeing’s capsule, the CST-100 Starliner, will be delayed. The oversight agency cited problems with the capsule’s parachute, which safely delivers astronauts back to Earth after their punishing reentry.

Here’s to hoping that SpaceX and Boeing can get back on track, reliably and safely furthering the possibilities of humanity’s endeavors in space.

To learn more about SpaceX’s long-term goals, find out How Elon Musk Plans to Take Humans to Mars and Beyond.