Unfortunately merely two minutes after liftoff the Falcon 9 rocket exploded in mid-air, fortunately though it was an unmanned mission so there was no loss of life.
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“Although this is a disappointment, the American space program has disappointments and we always overcome, and we learn from any mistake, and we build that learning into the future of our space program”, Nelson said.
“At this point it is not clear to the launch team exactly what happened”.
Moments later, a SpaceX commentator said the video link from the vehicle had been lost. SpaceX Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell indicated in a press conference that they received telemetry data from their Dragon spacecraft for a short period of time following the event. It was the third cargo ship to be lost in the past few months heading to the global Space Station. But thankfully, all astronauts were safe and sound aboard the ISS with sufficient supply that can still last for several months. Below is a link to the CRS-7 post launch briefing with representatives from SpaceX, NASA and the FAA, additional updates will be posted as they become available.
“A Progress vehicle is ready to launch July 3, followed in August by a Japanese HTV flight”.
Michael Suffredini, manager of the ISS programme, called the incident a “big loss”, but added “we will pick ourselves up and get on to the next flight”.
The countdown had proceeded without worries about weather, and the 208-foot-tall rocket lifted off at 10:21 a.m. EDT.
Falcon 9 took with it 4,000 pounds of food that Astronaut Scott Kelly will have to keep waiting for, 30 student experiments, new hardware, a water filtration system, and two HoloLens devices.
On Sunday morning, an unmanned cargo ship of SpaceX took off for the worldwide Space Station (ISS). But although the situation up there isn’t dire just yet it goes without saying that the failed SpaceX launch managed to greatly upset everyone that was involved in the mission, as well as all those who were expecting the goods.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has classified the explosion as a “mishap”.
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The spacecraft entered into an uncontrolled spin shortly after launch and days later burned up when it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere.
