The pad had been cleared of workers before what was supposed to be a routine pre-launch rocket test. A year ago a Dragon rocket exploded soon after launch, causing delays and problems for the International Space Station among others – those had led the company to increase the rate of its launches in an attempt to clear the backlog.
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What was to be a Saturday launch has now turned into a Thursday wake. That new launch pad, Launch Complex 39A, had previously been used for space shuttle launches. Moments later, the payload fairing plunged to the ground, followed by more explosions.
A video shows an initial fireball erupting in an upper portion of the Falcon rocket.
With the last rocket explosion, it was clearly a problem with the rocket – we all saw it go boom.
Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket exploded minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral.
The air is being monitored by authorities for any sign of toxic fumes.
While the pad was still burning, it was off-limits.
NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Martin declared in a statement that Kennedy Space Center’s Emergency Operations Center is “monitoring the situation” and is there to provide assistance in case it is required.
Zuckerberg added that his company has other technologies in the works, “and we will keep working until everyone has the opportunities this satellite would have provided”.
Zuckerberg was in Kenya on Thursday in meetings about the internet program when he heard about the explosion, which could delay the initiative by several years. Its CEO said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that the loss of the payload would have “a significant impact” on Space Communication. The satellite is owned by Israel-based Spacecom.
SpaceX has earlier launched Falcon 9 rocket to deliver NASA’s critical cargo.
The company is still investigating the cause of the accident, which took place at about 9AM eastern time, but no one will be able to get a good look at the wreckage right away.
Musk set up SpaceX with the goal of slashing launch costs to make travel to Mars affordable. Boeing also is developing a crew capsule for NASA. Its rockets have carried supplies to the International Space Station as well as satellites. They were not immediately told about it by Mission Control.
It has not yet been reported which insurers and reinsurers have exposure to the SpaceX rocket and Amos satellite destroyed yesterday. At the time, a rocket support strut snapped and evidently allowed helium to escape.
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By evening the fire was out, but the pad was going to remain off-limits until this morning as a precaution, the Air Force said.
