SpaceX loses rocket and payload to fire during test launch
The company tweeted that the accident was due to “an anomaly” on the pad during testing before the September 3 launch date.
United Launch Alliance’s biggest challenger, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, lost a rocket and its payload Thursday in a fiery blastĀ on itsĀ Cape Canaveral launch pad. The company tweeted that the accident was due to “an anomaly” on the pad during testing before the September 3 launch date.
The 5.5 ton Amos 6 satellite made by Israeli companyĀ SpacecomĀ was aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and was also destroyed in the blast. It reportedly cost close toĀ $200 million to manufacture. The cost was to be split between Spacecom and Facebook, who had intended to rent the satellite asĀ means of spreading the social network to SubSaharanĀ Africa, Mashable reported.
No one was injured during the blast, according to SpaceX, but it is not known as of now how this setback will affect the company’s future and ongoing competition with ULA. In aĀ similar JulyĀ 15 incident, SpaceXĀ lost a rocket and payload headed for the International Space Station,Ā Quartz reported.
This financial setback comesĀ just daysĀ after SpaceX closed a deal with Luxembourg-based SES to fly the first recycledĀ rocket sometime this fall.
Multimedia business & healthcareĀ reporter Chloe Aiello can be reached via email atĀ caiello@denverite.comĀ or twitter.com/chlobo_ilo.
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