Huge explosion rocks Kennedy space centre
Web Desk /
There are reports of huge explosion on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida, where the aerospace company SpaceX was readying an unmanned rocket for launch.
According to New York Time a SpaceX rocket carrying a communications satellite exploded on the launchpad Thursday morning, dealing a major blow to Facebook’s plans for expanding internet services in Africa.
The Falcon 9 rocket, at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, was scheduled for launch on Saturday, and its payload included a satellite for Spacecom, an Israeli company. Facebook had arranged to use the satellite, once it was in orbit, to provide web connectivity to parts of the world that have little if any internet.
The cause of the blast is not clear and it is not known if anyone was hurt. SpaceX was believed to be test-firing a rocket which was due to take a satellite into space this weekend.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, expressed his concern in a strongly worded post on his page.
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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.
Fortunately, we have developed other technologies like Aquila that will connect people as well. We remain committed to our mission of connecting everyone, and we will keep working until everyone has the opportunities this satellite would have provided.
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Pictures from the scene show a huge plume of smoke rising above the complex. The force of the blast shook buildings several miles away. Local emergency officials described the incident as a catastrophic abort during a static test fire. In a tweet, the Brevard County Emergency Management Office said there is no threat to the public.
SpaceX is seeking to create a new era of reusable rockets and affordable private space travel and has used its Falcon-9 rocket to take supplies to the International Space Station. In April, the California-based company successfully landed a Falcon-9 on an ocean platform, after four previous attempts failed.