SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket, Satellite Destroyed In An Explosion At Cape Canaveral Launch Pad

An unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was completely destroyed along with its payload in an explosion Thursday morning in Florida during a routine test. The rocket was to launch Facebook's first communications satellite into orbit and would have significantly widened Internet access in Africa.

The rocket was supposed to launch the Amos-6 communication satellite, which included the capabilities for Facebook to spot-beam broadband for Facebook's Internet.org initiative. France-based satellite provider Eutelast and Facebook spent an estimated $95million on the satellite's Ka-band communication array for a five year lease. SpaceX confirmed the loss of the Falcon 9 in a Tweet later:

Statement on this morning's anomaly pic.twitter.com/3Xm2bRMS7T

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 1, 2016

Photo of the explosion at the SpaceX launch site at Cape Canaveral this morning. pic.twitter.com/RWUKLGq6v4 — Mike Gruss (@Gruss_SN) September 1, 2016

"Emergency personnel were monitoring the situation and standing by to assist, and the air quality was being monitored for any potential threats to employees." NASA spokesman Al Feinberg told NBC News.

What triggered the explosion?

The blast occurred shortly after 9am in Cape Canaveral, as smoke could be seen billowing into the sky where the $200 million Amos-6 satellite was set to launch on Saturday morning with a SpaceX reusable rocket. 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." Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX however states that the Falcon 9 explosion happened while fueling up:

Loss of Falcon vehicle today during propellant fill operation. Originated around upper stage oxygen tank. Cause still unknown. More soon. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 1, 2016

"The latest explosion of a SpaceX Falcon rocket following earlier explosions in January and June 2015 indicates the inherent unpredictability and risk involved in space flight, whether manned or unmanned, and whether missions are led by NASA or by commercial contractors." said Strategy Professor Loizos Heracleous who has worked with NASA on its strategy in the modern space race involving SpaceX. 

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 any accident happens, He added. "This explosion will not change the long term goals of SpaceX, which are to reduce the cost of space flight through the use of reusable rockets, and eventually to colonise Mars."