Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg had his jaunt to Africa interrupted by some pretty unfortunate news Thursday: A SpaceX rocket exploded on a Florida launchpad, destroying a satellite Facebook was planning to use to offer Internet access in parts of the continent he’s now visiting. The SpaceX rocket, a Falcon 9, was undergoing a test at the time of the explosion; it was not set to launch until September 3 at the earliest.
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Facebook’s mission to spread the internet across sub-Saharan Africa received a major setback after the rocket due to launch the communication satellite exploded in routine tests.
Brevard County Emergency Management said there was no threat to the public from the incident. But they have set up roadblocks around the station.
Social media posts showed dark smoke billowing up from the launch site, which is next to NASA’s Cape Kennedy Space Center.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who had traveled to Africa to celebrate the launch on location, candidly expressed his frustration about the accident on his Facebook profile.
The satellite’s Israeli-based operator, Spacecom, said the loss will have “a significant impact” on the company. The Israeli-built satellite was part of a partnership between Facebook and a French company to provide internet service to the Middle East, Africa and parts of Europe.
The satellite was due to become the first in Facebook’s project to spread Internet to the developing world.
Until Thursday, the company had successfully carried out eight launches this year, with nine more in the wings by year’s end, including the debut flight of the so-called Falcon Heavy. The spaceship was undergoing pre-launch testing when it blew up, according to a SpaceX statement, which said that no one was hurt during the accident.
The U.S. Air Force said on its Twitter account that an explosion occurred on the pad at Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX is one of two companies that transports cargo to the orbiting laboratory, which flies 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.
The space station is well stocked and able to weather any potential delays to upcoming SpaceX deliveries, NASA said. It’s also working on a crew capsule to ferry station USA astronauts; that first flight was supposed to come as early as next year.
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Launch Complex 40 is an Air Force facility which has been leased to SpaceX. The company is also redoing a former shuttle pad at Kennedy for future manned flights for NASA.
