A SpaceX rocket exploded on Nasa’s Cape Canaveral launchpad today, destroying Facebook’s first satellite and sending a huge plume of smoke high into the air.
The Falcon 9 spacecraft had been undergoing a routine test before launching the satellite on September 3, but dramatic photos from the scene show how the mission went badly wrong.
Facebook had reportedly commissioned the Israeli Amos-6 satellite costing around £130million to help deliver broadband around the world as part of its internet.org programme – but it was destroyed in this morning’s blast.
Buildings several miles away shook from the impact, and multiple explosions continued for several minutes.
Private company SpaceX, founded by celebrity entrepreneur Elon Musk, aims to eventually allow humans to live on other planets.
In a statement, this afternoon SpaceX said there were no injuries as safety precautions meant the launchpad was clear.
Both the rocket and its payload (the satellite) were destroyed due to an ‘anomaly’ on the pad, they said:
Live footage from the scene showed smoke still rising hours after the blast was first reported:
Wow, SpaceX rocket just blew up on pad. Shook our whole bldg. pic.twitter.com/PMxZA4v4IV
— SpaceCoastTiger (@TigernBear) September 1, 2016
Falcon 9 has previously been used to deliver supplies to the International Space Station.
Future launches are likely to be delayed as the company repairs the launch pad and vehicle and investigates what went wrong.
SpaceX designs, builds and launches rockets with the self-described ‘ultimate goal’ of allowing people to live on other planets. Their crafts are designed to be re-used, and the company had just sold on a previously flown Falcon 9 to a private customer for the first time.
Demonstrating that the rockets can be reused is crucial for the company’s goal of reducing the cost of space technology.
The Falcon 9 rocket
According to Nasa, it is the only rocket to have been fully designed and developed so far in the 21st century.
It was built to deliver satellites as well as the Dragon spacecraft into orbit.
The Amos 6 satellite launch at 3am on Saturday had been hotly anticipated, with the Kennedy Space Centre advertising it on its website – although no viewing opportunities were available due to its late timing.
‘The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is designed so that even if two of the engines shut down, the rocket can still operate,’ the space centre said.
‘Falcon 9’s first stage incorporates nine Merlin engines and aluminum-lithium alloy tanks containing liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene propellant.’
