SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said this week that fog at Vandenberg Air Force Base may be partially to blame for the company's failure to bring its Falcon 9 rocket safely back to earth on Sunday.
Musk posted information on his Instagram account saying one of the rocket's legs didn't latch properly, causing it to tip over.
"The root cause may have been ice buildup due to condensation from heavy fog at liftoff," Musk said.
Video of the rocket landing attempt shows the Falcon 9 setting down on target, but then slowly toppling over and exploding on impact.
The rocket came down on a barge stationed off the coast of Southern California.
The rocket did however successfully deliver its payload into orbit, a NOAA satellite designed to measure the world's rising sea levels.
Falcon lands on droneship, but the lockout collet doesn't latch on one the four legs, causing it to tip over post landing. Root cause may have been ice buildup due to condensation from heavy fog at liftoff. A video posted by Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on Jan 17, 2016 at 7:07pm PST