CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida – Stunning video shows a SpaceX rocket exploding on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Thursday, September 1, 2016.
The explosion occurred at approximately 9:07 a.m. during fueling of the Falcon 9 rocket for a static fire test at Space Launch Complex 40.
“The anomaly originated around the upper stage oxygen tank and occurred during propellant loading of the vehicle. Per standard operating procedure, all personnel were clear of the pad and there were no injuries,” SpaceX said in a statement.
“We are continuing to review the data to identify the root cause. Additional updates will be provided as they become available.”
The U.S. Air Force set up roadblocks around Cape Canaveral Air Force Station after the explosion.
However, residents on Florida’s Space Coast do not have to worry about any potential harm from the explosion, according to public safety officials.
“There is NO threat to general public from catastrophic abort during static test fire at SpaceX launch pad at CCAFS this morning,” Brevard County Emergency Management stated.
The 6-ton AMOS-6 satellite, built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for Space Communication Ltd. (Spacecom), would have been the heaviest satellite that SpaceX launched into Geo Stationary Orbit using the rocket’s nine Merlin engines.
The $200 million Amos-6 was intended to significantly expand the variety of communication services provided by Spacecom to the international market from the orbit slot 4° West, including direct satellite home internet services which Eutelstat and Facebook had agreed to cost share.
“Over the last year Facebook has been exploring ways to use aircraft and satellites to beam internet access down into communities from the sky,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in 2015. “To connect people living in remote regions, traditional connectivity infrastructure is often difficult and inefficient, so we need to invent new technologies.”
Image and video credit: USLaunchReport.com via YouTube
