Explosion destroys SpaceX rocket during test

The company had successfully launched a Falcon 9 last month, sending a Japanese communications satellite into orbit and then landing the rocket on a floating drone ship.

NASA says SpaceX was conducting a test firing of its unmanned rocket when the blast occurred on Thursday morning.

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 planned to use the satellite as part of its project to beam Internet connectivity to parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

On Facebook Live, Washington Post reporters Chris Davenport and Joel Achenbach discussed the SpaceX explosion and its ramifications – including how it might have an effect on Musk’s desire to put humans on Mars in the 2020s.

“We are disappointed by the loss but remain committed to our mission of connecting people to the Internet around the world”, a Facebook spokesperson said in an email to Computerworld.

Pictures from the scene show a huge plume of smoke rising above the complex.

The blast shook buildings several miles away.

Brevard County Emergency Management said there was no threat to the public from the incident.

It’s the same kind of SpaceX rocket used to deliver supplies to the International Space Station.