DEVELOPING | Explosion rocks SpaceX Falcon 9 pad at Cape Canaveral
by Brian Berger — September 1, 2016
An eyewitness sent SpaceNews this photo of smoke billowing over a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
An eyewitness sent SpaceNews this photo of smoke billowing over a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
WASHINGTON — An explosion sent smoke billowing over a Cape Canaveral launch pad Thursday morning where SpaceX was preparing its Falcon 9 rocket to launch the Amos-6 satellite Sept. 3.
Local authorities said the explosion occurred during a static fire test of the Falcon 9. The test, which entails briefly firing the rocket’s first stage, is a routine pre-launch procedure for liquid-fueled rockets such as the Falcon 9.
“There is NO threat to general public from catastrophic abort during static test fire at SpaceX launch pad at CCAFS this morning,” Brevard County Emergency Management Office reported at 8:45 a.m. EDT via Twitter.
The first reports of an explosion the Cape arrived via social media around 9:12 a.m. EDT.
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