The Falcon 9 rocket, at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, was to carry a communications satellite for Spacecom, an Israeli company, at 3 a.m. on Saturday. SpaceX confirmed in a statement that an “anomaly” on the launchpad caused the loss of its rocket and the payload during a test. The company has had problems in the past with its Falcon 9, one of which fell apart a little more than a year ago.
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation of Hawthorne, Calif., better known as SpaceX, is led by Elon Musk, the technology entrepreneur who is also the chief executive of Tesla, the electric car company. SpaceX developed the Falcon 9 rocket, largely with NASA financing, for cargo missions, but has also built a large business launching commercial satellites to orbit.
Beginning as early as next year, NASA also has plans to use the Falcon 9 rocket to carry astronauts, and cargo, to the International Space Station. In its own statement, NASA confirmed that an incident occurred at Space Launch Complex 40, the site of SpaceX’s launchpad, shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday.
“Kennedy Space Center Emergency Operations Center personnel are monitoring the situation and standing by to assist if required. Kennedy Environmental Health is monitoring the air quality to ensure it is safe for employees,” the statement said.
A webcam at the NASA Kennedy Space Center showed billowing smoke rising into the sky from the SpaceX launchpad, and nearby residents reported feeling vibrations from the explosion.
Eyewitnesses posted about the explosion on Twitter.
Wow, SpaceX rocket just blew up on pad. Shook our whole bldg. pic.twitter.com/PMxZA4v4IV
— SpaceCoastTiger (@TigernBear) Sept. 1, 2016
The Associated Press said the blast happened during a test firing of the rocket’s engines and that multiple explosions continued for several minutes. It was the second mishap for the Falcon 9 model. In June last year, a rocket carrying NASA cargo to the International Space Station fell apart in-flight when a strut holding a helium bottle snapped, setting off a cascade of events that destroyed the vessle moments later.
The company currently lists about 40 launches on its manifest.
Joined Stellar Hub as an editor in the summer of 2016.
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