The objective of the static test fire, according to a NASA Space Flight story published shortly after the explosion, “is to provide a dress rehearsal for the launch team, culminating in a three-second firing of all nine of the first state Merlin 1D engines to validate the health of the rocket”.
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“SpaceX can confirm that in preparation for today’s static fire, there was an anomaly on the pad resulting in the loss of the vehicle and its payload“, the company said in a statement.
A “significant explosion” hit the launch area, the 45th Space Wing at Cape Canaveral Air Station tells member station WMFE’s Brendan Byrne.
The blast in Florida shook buildings several miles away, and multiple explosions continued for several minutes.
There are video reports showing big black clouds of smoke emerging. “Additional updates will be provided as they become available”.
It’ll probably slow those plans at least a little, since the Amos 6 satellite that SpaceX’s rocket was supposed to carry into orbit was meant to play a role in the project.
Next-door Nasa employees rushing frantically outside to see what had happened after the first blast. SpaceX did not have a launch scheduled for Thursday morning. SpaceX, one of two companies making deliveries, is also working on a crew capsule to ferry station US astronauts.
One of the Space X’s Falcon 9 rockets exploded at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida while readying for launch.
An unnamed caller to the radio station who identified himself as a SpaceX subcontractor, said the SpaceX building. was rocked by at least two explosions, and personnel were immediately evacuated. But the advent of private sector space companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic are an integral part of what could be the biggest industry in the 21st Century – unless further disasters intervene.
The Falcon 9 suffered its only in-flight failure in June 2015, when a strut broke in the rocket’s upper stage, causing an oxidizer tank to rupture. The company also is working on a crew capsule to ferry station USA astronauts. It’s uncertain if the company will attempt another satellite launch soon.
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SpaceX is leasing the Cape Canaveral pad from the Air Force for unmanned Falcon launches. The company is also redoing a former shuttle pad at Kennedy for future manned flights for NASA.
