In today’s Bulldog wrapup of science and technology news:

  • SpaceX finds source of rocket explosion, plans new launch
  • Texas family blame Apple’s FaceTime in suit over fatal crash 
  • New wood technology may offer hope for struggling timber
  • China to ease curbs on foreign investment after complaints

The details:

  • SpaceX finds source of rocket explosion, plans new launch 

SpaceX plans to resume flights as early as next week after finding the cause of an explosion that destroyed a rocket and satellite on a Florida launch pad in September.

The Hawthorne, California-based company is aiming for a Sunday, Jan. 8, flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday (http://lat.ms/2irBTvc). The launch still needs approval by the Federal Aviation Administration.

[VIDEO: Watch a video of the expolision at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BgJEXQkjNQ ]

The company said its investigation of the Sept. 1 explosion found that a tank failed within the larger, second-stage liquid oxygen tank.

SpaceX plans to launch 10 satellites for Iridium Communications Inc. on a Falcon 9 rocket. The satellites will be used to provide mobile communications on land, sea and air.

Iridium says it in a tweet that it is pleased with the SpaceX’s announcement and target launch date.

SpaceX had said it expected to return to flight as soon as November. But that anticipated launch date slipped back to December, and then January.

“Clearly, they’re being extra cautious,” said Marco Caceres, senior space analyst for the Teal Group. “SpaceX usually pushes ahead a lot faster. So it seems like they’re not rushing ahead at this point, which is a good thing.”

The explosion at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station destroyed a satellite that was to be managed by Israeli satellite operator Spacecom and was also to help Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg bring high-speed internet access to remote parts of Africa.

SpaceX said Monday that it pored through 3,000 channels of video and telemetry data that spanned just 93 milliseconds from the first sign of trouble to the explosion.

  • Texas family blame Apple’s FaceTime in suit over fatal crash

A Texas couple whose 5-year-old daughter died in a crash involving a driver who was allegedly using Apple’s FaceTime video chatting app is suing the tech company.

The lawsuit filed this month in Santa Clara Superior Court accuses Apple of not implementing iPhone features that would automatically disable FaceTime based on technology that calculates highway speeds.

Apple hasn’t responded to the lawsuit and didn’t immediately respond to an email Saturday seeking comment.

Moriah Modisette was killed in a 2014 Christmas Eve accident near Dallas. The lawsuit obtained by California television KTLA claims police found FaceTime running on the iPhone of the driver who struck the Modisette family at 65 mph.

The family claims Apple knew the risks of using FaceTime while driving because the company patented “lock-out” technology in 2008.

  • New wood technology may offer hope for struggling timber

D.R. Johnson Lumber Co. is one of two U.S. timber mills making a new wood product that’s the buzz of the construction industry. It’s called cross-laminated timber, or CLT, and it’s made like it sounds: rafts of 2-by-4 beams aligned in perpendicular layers, then glued — or laminated — together like a giant sandwich.

The resulting panels are lighter and less energy-intensive than concrete and steel, much faster to assemble on-site than regular timber and strong enough to build even the tallest skyscrapers, proponents say.

From Maine to Arkansas to the Pacific Northwest, the material is sparking interest among architects, engineers and researchers. Many say it could infuse struggling forest communities like Riddle with new economic growth while reducing the carbon footprint of urban construction with a renewable building material.

  • China to ease curbs on foreign investment after complaints

The Chinese government said Friday it will ease restrictions on foreign investment in sectors ranging from banking and internet services to rail equipment and motorcycles, in response to mounting complaints from foreign business groups and governments.

An official with China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the economic planning agency, said service sectors such as accounting and auditing, architectural design and ratings services will be open to foreign investment.