Thankfully no one was injured, but an opportunity to bring internet to access to Africa went up in smoke as a result.
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There were no injuries, but the rocket and the satellite onboard were destroyed, SpaceX said in a statement.
SpaceX has earlier launched Falcon 9 rocket to deliver NASA’s critical cargo.
It took place during this morning’s prelaunch preparations for a static hot fire test of the nine Merlin 1 D engines powering the Falcon 9 first stage when engineers were loading propellants for a blastoff, according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
The massive blast shook buildings kilometres away.
It also reported that roadblocks had been set up in and around Cape Canaveral. Spacecom said the new satellite was supposed to provide services to television and internet operators.
The SpaceX rocket is the same kind used to launch space station supplies for Nasa. In addition to leasing a launch pad from NASA, SpaceX is also refurbishing a another pad at Cape Canaveral for future manned flights. It was one of the rockets that has been recycled after a successful drone barge landing – SpaceX hopes to be able to re-use such equipment for the first time ever, potentially vastly reducing the costs of space travel.
The rocket and its satellite payload were scheduled to be launched this Saturday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. During that test, the Air Force Museum at the Kennedy Space Center closes, however SpaceX does have a personnel building close to the launchpad. After the explosion the sky was filled with dark smoke and sirens could be heard. A half-hour later, a black cloud hung low across the eastern horizon. No other details were immediately available.
SpaceX says there were no injuries. But a stock market filing says Space Communication’s pending $US285 million sale to Beijing Xinwei Group was contingent on a successful launch.
The air is being monitored by authorities for any sign of toxic fumes.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg past year wrote about his big plans for the AMOS-6, which was built by the Israeli company IAI.
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The initial blast sounded like lightning, but was followed by the sounds of more explosions. It’s also working on a crew capsule to ferry station United States astronauts.
