SpaceX has already demonstrated quite a few times that it’s more than capable of launching its Falcon 9 rocket and of landing it back after the rocket has completed its mission. However, that doesn’t mean that accidents can’t happen. The company was supposed to deliver a satellite this weekend but it won’t be able to do that as the Falcon 9 rocket that was supposed to take it up to space has exploded on the launch pad.
Local media reports mention that the explosion took place during the preparation for the static fire test of the Falcon 9’s engines. It’s said that the blast shook builds miles away from the launch pad.
SpaceX later confirmed the incident itself, saying in a statement that “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. Per standard procedure, the pad was clear and there were no injuries.”
It’s standard operating procedure for SpaceX to conduct a static fire test of its Falcon 9 rocket before it’s sent up to space so nothing out of the ordinary was happening today.
SpaceX is yet to go into the details about what actually caused the rocket to explode on the launch pad. We’ll get that information in the days to come.
Photo of the explosion at the SpaceX launch site at Cape Canaveral this morning. pic.twitter.com/RWUKLGq6v4
— Mike Gruss (@Gruss_SN) September 1, 2016