Explosion at Kennedy Space Center ahead of SpaceX rocket launch

Anomaly on pad ahead of static fire of unmanned rocket launch results in explosion

1 September 2016, 5:22pm

1 min read

An unmanned rocket due to be launched by SpaceX on Saturday has exploded on the launch pad during routine testing.

Eyewitnesses at the Cape Canaveral launch complex in Florida reported multiple explosions with shakes being felt nearby.

#SpaceX #falcon9 pic.twitter.com/JtCzgPdwj1
— Danielle K (@GirlieToNerdy) September 1, 2016

SpaceX has said in a statement that the explosion was caused by an anomaly on the pad during a static fire test. The explosion resulted in the “loss of the vehicle and its payload”, apparently an Israeli made communications satellite that Facebook was going to use in its bid to distribute free Internet to Sub-Saharan Africa. The company added that as “per standard procedure, the pad was clear and there were no injuries.”

SpaceX suffered a rocket explosion in June 2015 however has since had nine successful launches including the successful landing of its Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship.