What we know:
—SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket exploded Thursday in Cape Canaveral, Florida, days before a scheduled launch. The spaceflight company said in a statement the explosion was due to “an anomaly on the pad.”
—The destruction of the crewless rocket, which was due to launch a satellite this weekend, occurred during a “propellant fill operation,” said Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX.
—We’re live-blogging the major developments. All updates are in Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -4).
2:43 p.m.
Footage of the explosion has been posted on YouTube—and it’s quite dramatic:
1:36 p.m.
More details from Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX:
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
10:54 a.m.
SpaceX released a statement about the explosion Thursday morning:
Statement on this morning's anomaly pic.twitter.com/3Xm2bRMS7T
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 1, 2016
10:27 a.m.
SpaceX says there was no one on the launch pad at the time of the explosion:
NEW from @SpaceX "Per standard procedure, the pad was clear and there were no injuries." #SpaceXExplosion
— WFTV Eyewitness News (@WFTV) September 1, 2016
9:57 a.m.