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Falcon 9 Explodes On Pad (npr.org)
Reader Mysticalfruit writes: NPR is reporting that a Falcon9 carrying the AMOS-6 satellite that was supposed to launch on Sat exploded during it's scheduled static fire. No injuries are reported. They're reporting that this was going to be the first reflown first stage.
The Verge adds:SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, meant to launch a satellite this weekend, exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida this morning. The explosion occurred during the preparation for the static fire test of the rocket's engines, NASA told the Associated Press. The blast reportedly shook buildings "several miles away." The company confirmed to The Verge the loss of the Falcon 9 an hour later: "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."
The Verge adds:SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, meant to launch a satellite this weekend, exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida this morning. The explosion occurred during the preparation for the static fire test of the rocket's engines, NASA told the Associated Press. The blast reportedly shook buildings "several miles away." The company confirmed to The Verge the loss of the Falcon 9 an hour later: "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."
awesome work, spaceX! You rock guys. Please send your next rocket to north korea. Thanks in advance.
As they say, there's always a silver lining...
https://techcrunch.com/2016/09...
But it's unfortunate that this is being reported as a failure of the SpaceX Rocket, while the malfunction was apparently in the pad.
You're kidding, right? When SpaceX reported "an anomaly on the pad", they just meant the rocket had an issue leading to its explosion while it was standing on the pad waiting to fire.
Of course Musk may choose to describe this as a "rapid unscheduled prelaunch disassembly" rather than an explosion - we'll have to see.
#DeleteChrome
This is why we put our space launch sites in places nobody cares about like Florida and Kazakhstan.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Slashdot Editors !
Your story is wrong !
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EDIT !
Privatization - better, cheaper, faster... more bang for the buck.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
This rocket was brand new it was the first that would have been SCHEDULED TO REUSE later after this launch.
So, it's looking good then?
Some re-assembly required.
If it didn't have micro-fractures before, it sure does now... and they're definitely going to be hard to find.