SpaceX rocket explodes on launchpad in florida

A SpaceX rocket exploded at NASA’s Cape Canaveral facility on Thursday morning during preparations for a launch scheduled for Saturday.

According to reports, the explosion, which happened just after 9 a.m., rattled windows at the Florida facility. Plumes of black smoke could subsequently be seen rising above the explosion site.

“SpaceX can confirm that in preparation for today’s standard pre-launch static test fire, there was an anomaly on the pad resulting in the loss of the vehicle and its payload,” the company said in a statement on Twitter. “Per Standard procedure, the pad was clear and there were no injuries.”

Rocket Preparing to Launch Commercial Satellite

SpaceX was getting ready to launch an unmanned rocket transporting a commercial satellite early from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 40. Destroyed in the explosion, the satellite was the AMOS-6, an integral part of Facebook’s attempt to offer the Internet to rural areas from space. In a post last year, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the satellite would “cover large parts of West, East and Southern Africa. We’re going to work with local partners across these regions to help communities begin accessing internet services provided through satellite.”

The explosion was also a major setback for SpaceX, whose endeavors have produced mixed results. Last year, the company’s Falcon 9 rocket blew up in on a resupply mission to the International Space Station. Subsequently, the company was able to successfully launch and land rockets, part of its attempt to significantly cut costs by resuing rocket boosters.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a former astronaut himself, said the SpaceX accident “reminds us all that space flight is an inherently risky business.”

“As we continue to push the frontiers of space, there will be both triumphs and setbacks. But at the end of the day, I’m confident that our commercial space industry will be very successful,” he said in a statement.

SpaceX is a California-based company founded by the tech mogul Elon Musk. It has been the leading company is NASA attempt to privatize American space exploration and has been working intimately with the space agency. In addition to leasing a launch pad from NASA, SpaceX is also refurbishing a another pad at Cape Canaveral for future manned flights.

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Image credit: SunriseSurfer2 on Instagram

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