SpaceX Rocket Blast Destroys Satellite for Facebook Project
- Blast sets back effort to spread internet access in Africa
- No workers were injured in accident following static fire test
Raw Video: SpaceX Rocket Explodes
This article is for subscribers only.
A SpaceX rocket blew up on a launchpad in Florida, marking the second loss of a spacecraft by Elon Musk’s venture in a little more than a year and hobbling a Facebook Inc. initiative to spread internet access across Africa.
The accident occurred Thursday at Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 40 as SpaceX held a dress rehearsal for Saturday’s planned launch of an Israeli communications satellite. Both the Falcon 9 rocket and its payload were incinerated as fireballs scorched the structure.