Two days before its scheduled launch, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and its commercial satellite payload, which Facebook planned to use to beam Internet connectivity, exploded today on the launch pad.
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He noted that the launch pad damaged on Thursday was distinct from the one that will serve to launch SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, meant to ferry astronauts to the ISS starting in late 2017.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk later tweeted that, ‘Loss of Falcon vehicle today during propellant fill operation.
Musk, who also is CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla, has said he hopes the company will be able to take people to Mars as soon as 2025.
There was no immediate word on any injuries; the launch pad usually is cleared before a test firing of a SpaceX Falcon rocket. “Right now we’re trying to determine the extent of the damage, the exact location, possible cause and checking to make sure no one is injured”, he said.
Multiple explosions rocked the test site at Space Launch Complex 40 at the Kennedy Space Center and sent billowing plumes of smoke into the atmosphere.
Facebook would have been among the customers for bandwidth on that satellite.
Thursday’s launch pad explosion could derail the sale of Spacecom for US$285 million (S$387 million) to Beijing Xinwei Technology Group.
Facebook and Eutelsat agreed to pay $95 million over as many as five years to Israeli company Spacecom, which owned the satellite.
“This is a blow and the next satellite, if Space Communications manages to overcome the crisis which it will face and decides to order another one, could be in another three years or so”, Ben-Israel said.
“As I’m here in Africa, I’m deeply disappointed to hear that SpaceX’s launch failure destroyed our satellite that would have provided connectivity to so many entrepreneurs and everyone else across the continent”, Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post (of course).
The blast, which took place at 9:07 am, was a series of explosions that lasted for more than four minutes.
SpaceX is one of two companies shipping supplies to the International Space Station for NASA.
Shares of Musk’s companies Tesla Motors and SolarCity were down 4 per cent at $US203.65 and 5.5 per cent at $US19.50 respectively in morning trade.
Bryan Purtell, a spokesman for the Air Force 45th Space Wing, confirmed that there was an explosion and said that emergency crews were responding. The rocket was still standing, although the top third or so was clearly bent over.
If SpaceX can flawless its reusable rockets, those costs drop lower. It is routine for companies to test fire their rockets before launches.
NASA will offer SpaceX technical support for the mission, including access to the Deep Space Network, in exchange for data on Martian entry, descent and landing, according to a blog post from Deputy Administrator Dava Newman. The company had since bounced back, pulling off a series of successful launches.
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They say it’s too early to know whether the explosion will affect SpaceX cargo launches to the Space Station.
