Rocket explodes on launch pad
Blow to Musk’s SpaceX
AN EXPLOSION destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket belonging to Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its cargo during preparations for a routine test firing at Cape Canaveral in Florida yesterday, two days before it had been due to blast off and place a satellite in orbit.
SpaceX said there were no injuries and that an “anomaly” during the static fire test resulted in the loss of the rocket and a communications satellite owned by Israel-based Space Communication which was going to be used by Facebook to expand internet access in Africa.
Video showed a fiery blast ripping through the upper part of the rocket before the vehicle collapsed in flames on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A plume of black smoke poured into the air.
The rocket’s loss occurred while the first and second stages were being filled with propellant, the company said.
“Cause still unknown. More soon,” Musk, a South African-born billionaire entrepreneur who helped found Tesla Motors, said on Twitter.
It was not immediately known to what extent SpaceX’s launch pad was damaged or what the impact would be on the dozens of Nasa and commercial satellite missions on its launch schedule.
The company has a second launch site at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, and it has also leased one of the old space shuttle launch pads adjacent to its Cape Canaveral site. A fourth launch site is being built in Texas.
Several customers expressed support for SpaceX while saying they were not sure of the impact of the explosion on their own plans.
“We’re confident in SpaceX and that they will find and resolve any issues causing this incident, and we will be ready to go once that occurs,” Iridium Communications Inc said.
SpaceX had been due to launch its 29th Falcon 9 rocket, which carries a list price of $62 million (R904m), before dawn tomorrow, carrying the Spacecom-owned AMOS-6.
Facebook would have been among the customers for bandwidth on that satellite. Last year, it said it was partnering with Eutelsat Communications to boost data connectivity to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
The explosion could derail the sale of Spacecom for $285 million to Beijing Xinwei Technology Group. The companies unveiled the agreement last week, but said it was contingent on the successful launch of the satellite and completion of its in-orbit tests.
In a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Spacecom said the loss will have “a significant impact” on the company. Its shares closed down 8.9% at 38.95 shekels.
The commercial space office of the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees commercial rocket launches in the US, has inspectors at the launch site who were overseeing the preflight engine test, and the agency is collecting information about damage to the pad, spokesman Hank Price said.
People in buildings far from the facility felt shock waves, but local authorities said residents were not at risk.
In a post from Africa, Facebook founder Mark Zucker- berg said he was deeply disappointed at the loss of the satellite which he said would have provided connectivity to many entrepreneurs and others across the continent.
Eutelsat said it also regretted the loss but remained committed to growing broadband in Africa. The potential impact on its revenues was estimated at up to € 50 million by 2019, the company said.
SpaceX had planned to dispatch as many as nine more missions before the end of the year, including two flights to place a 20-member satellite network into orbit for Iridium.
It was due to launch its next mission in November to fly cargo to the International Space Station for Nasa. SpaceX is one of two companies that transport cargo to the orbiting laboratory, which flies 400km above Earth.
Nasa said it remained confident in SpaceX. It was too soon to know how upcoming SpaceX launches to the space station would be affected, but other cargo ships would be able to keep the station stocked with supplies, the statement said.
Shares of Musk’s companies Tesla Motors and SolarCity closed down 5% and 9%, respectively.
RW Baird analyst Ben Kallo said those share price moves were in response to a disclosure on Wednesday by Tesla, which has agreed to buy SolarCity, that it would need to raise additional funds, and not to the explosion.
SpaceX says it has a backlog of more than $10 billion in launch orders from customers including Nasa and commercial companies. – Reuters