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| destroys SpaceX rocket |
An unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launch pad during a
test in Florida on Thursday, destroying a satellite that Facebook
planned to use to beam high-speed internet to Africa.
The blast at Cape Canaveral -- though it caused no injuries -- marks a
setback for the California-based private space firm and its founder,
internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, who wants to revolutionize the launch
industry by making rocket components reusable.
"Loss of Falcon vehicle today during propellant fill operation," Musk
tweeted. "Originated around upper stage oxygen tank. Cause still
unknown. More soon."
Dramatic footage broadcast by ABC News showed the rocket burst into a
roaring ball of flame amid what appeared to be a succession of blasts --
sending its payload tumbling to the ground as a dense plume of black
smoke filled the air.
"At approximately 9:07 am ET (1307 GMT), during a standard pre-launch
static fire test for the Amos-6 mission, there was an anomaly at
SpaceX's Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 resulting in loss of the
vehicle," the firm said.
"Per standard operating procedure, the pad was clear and there were no injuries."
But the explosion destroyed the Israeli communications satellite that
the Falcon 9 was due to deliver into orbit on Saturday -- drawing a
dismayed reaction from Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg.
"As I'm here in Africa, I'm deeply disappointed to hear that SpaceX's
launch failure destroyed our satellite that would have provided
connectivity to so many entrepreneurs and everyone else across the
continent," Zuckerberg said on his
Facebook page.
Facebook was contracted to use the Amos-6 to provide broadband internet
coverage for large parts of sub-Saharan Africa and other remote parts
of the world as part of the social media giant's Internet.org
initiative.
"Fortunately, we have developed other technologies like Aquila that
will connect people as well," Zuckerberg said, referring to the
solar-powered plane being developed by Facebook to make the internet
available in remote areas.
"We will keep working until everyone has the opportunities this satellite would have provided."
European satellite operator Eutelsat --
Facebook's partner in the
project -- said in a statement it was committed to expanding broadband
access in Africa despite the loss of the Amos-6.
- Heaviest payload -
A
NASA spokeswoman told AFP that emergency services at the nearby
Kennedy Space Center were monitoring the situation and conducting air
quality tests to ensure there is no threat to the health of staff.
Officials at the center advised workers to remain inside until further
notice, but Brevard County Emergency Management said there was no threat
to the public from the incident.
The Amos-6 was the heaviest payload to date for a SpaceX rocket, with
an estimated value of between $200-300 million, according to John
Logsdon, former director of the Space Policy Institute at George
Washington University.
The accident -- the second of its kind since SpaceX was founded in 2002
-- comes just over a year after a Falcon 9 rocket failed after liftoff
on June 28, 2015, destroying a Dragon cargo capsule bound for the
International Space Station (ISS).
Before that, SpaceX had logged 18 successful launches of the Falcon 9
-- including six of 12 planned supply missions to the ISS carried out as
part of a $1.6 billion contract with NASA.
It had carried out another eight successful launches since June 2015,
including last month when a Falcon 9 successfully placed a Japanese
communications satellite in orbit, and then landed intact on a floating drone ship.
Before then the firm lost several rockets as it attempted to land them
upright on an ocean platform at the end of a flight -- a crucial part of
its strategy for reusable spacecraft.
- 'Valuable experience' -
While the blast is likely to disrupt SpaceX plans for six more launches
between now and January 2017, experts made clear that such incidents
are a normal part of the space learning curve.
"It's clearly a setback, but how great the setback is and how long the
delay, it's impossible to know until there is more information
available," said Logsdon.
He noted that the launch pad damaged on Thursday was distinct from the
one that will serve to launch SpaceX's Crew Dragon, intended to ferry
astronauts to the ISS starting in late 2017.
NASA said in a tweet that Thursday's SpaceX explosion "reminds us that
spaceflight is challenging. Our partners learn from each success &
setback."
Loizos Heracleous, a professor of strategy at Warwick Business School,
said such setbacks were par for the course -- and would not affect
SpaceX's stated long-term goals of slashing the cost of space flight
through the use of reusable rockets, and eventually colonizing Mars.
"SpaceX is gathering valuable experience, and each accident brings
lessons on how to enhance the integrity of the craft for future
missions," he said.
"Given that SpaceX is working to provide NASA with a way to transport
not just cargo, but also astronauts to the International Space Station,
it is especially crucial that such learning takes place before that
happens.
