News

What Happened to SpaceX's Falcon 9?

The rocket, which was meant to launch a satellite this weekend, exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

By Krishnadev Calamur and Marina Koren
NASA

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:

10:54 a.m.

SpaceX released a statement about the explosion Thursday morning:

10:27 a.m.

SpaceX says there was no one on the launch pad at the time of the explosion:

9:57 a.m.

Bryan Purtell, a representative for the 45th Space Wing, the US Air Force unit that commands the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, told The Verge: “There are no known casualties. There’s no threat to public safety and our emergency management teams are on site responding.”

9:48 a.m.

Brevard County, Florida, home to Cape Canaveral, says there is no threat to the public:

9:42 a.m.

Here’s video of smoke billowing after the apparent explosion.

9:40 a.m.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket exploded Thursday on the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as it was being test fired, the AP is reporting, citing NASA.

The rocket was scheduled to launch a satellite this weekend.

This is a developing story that we’ll update as we learn more.