It was not immediately clear if Thursday’s explosion damaged SpaceX’s launch pad or what impact it would have on the dozens of NASA and commercial satellite missions on its launch schedule.
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It is said that the Facebook had contracted the aerospace manufacturer to deliver the first satellite that would make its pet project Internet.org effective in sub-Saharan Africa.
NASAs first mission to bring a sample of near-Earth asteroid remains on track for launch on September 8, despite the SpaceX rocket explosion that occurred on Thursday, the USA space agency said. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Falcon 9 rocket was meant to put Israel’s Space-Communications Ltd.’s Amos-6 satellite into orbit this weekend.
It is also a blow for Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, who had planned to use the mission to help extend internet access in Africa, and for Spacecom, who owned the satellite. According to a SpaceX press release, “The anomaly originated around the upper stage oxygen tank and occurred during propellant loading of the vehicle”. It was expected to launch a satellite for Facebook this weekend.
Buildings several miles away were shook by the blast, and people nearby reported that multiple explosions continued for several minutes.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is now visiting Africa, said he was “deeply disappointed” to hear that the satellite had been destroyed.
“Cause still unknown”, Musk said via Twitter.
The rocket’s payload, an Israeli-built communications satellite for Facebook due to launch on Saturday, was destroyed in the explosion. “More soon.” The mishap dealt a severe blow to SpaceX, still scrambling to catch up with satellite deliveries following a launch accident past year.
Senator Bill Nelson, whose single space shuttle flight ended 10 days before the Challenger disaster in 1986, issued a statement in which he said that the Falcon 9 explosion “reminds us all that space flight is an inherently risky business”.
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“Given that SpaceX is working to provide NASA with a way to transport not just cargo, but also astronauts to the International Space Station, it is especially crucial that such learning takes place before that happens”. The company has launched 25 rockets from the site since 2010.
