SpaceX rocket explodes after launch

'We appear to have had a launch vehicle failure'

Yahoo News
SpaceX rocket explodes after launch

For SpaceX, the third time was definitely not a charm.

The spaceflight company's unmanned Falcon 9 rocket exploded shortly after takeoff from Cape Canaveral on Sunday. The explosion was seen in a live webcast of the launch carried by NASA TV.


"We appear to have had a launch vehicle failure," NASA TV commentator George Diller said as the rocket disintegrated in the skies above Florida's Atlantic coastline.

The explosion could be seen as far as 50 miles away in Sebastian, Fla., where those watching on the ground described "a major fireball in the sky just before rocket was heading behind a cloud."


"It didn't make it to the cloud," a commenter on FloridaToday.com wrote. "There was no question, it was obliterated."

 

It's unclear what caused the failure. A press conference was scheduled for later Sunday.


The launch was supposed to be a routine cargo mission to the International Space Station, part of SpaceX's agreement with NASA to launch resupply missions to ISS.

It also had a chance to be historic. Since January, SpaceX has been trying to safely land the Falcon 9 rocket on a free-floating barge — a feat the company says would be revolutionary, since most space rockets burn up or are largely destroyed during takeoff, making such launches an expensive proposition.

But SpaceX's first two attempts ended like Sunday's — with an explosion.

More on those from the Verge:

Its first attempt in January was an explosive one; the main shaft of the Falcon 9 was able to guide itself to the floating spaceport, but the rocket ran out of the fuel needed to slow it down. The result: the rocket hit the barge hard and fast in what SpaceX CEO Elon Musk dubbed a "rapid unscheduled disassembly."

In April, the company tried again. Video of the attempt shows the rocket gently lowering itself down to the barge while remaining upright. But it began to tilt — and then fall, leading to another explosion.


The same month, Russia’s Progress spacecraft malfunctioned during its own resupply launch to the International Space Station, eventually burning up in the earth's atmosphere.

NASA says it isn't too worried about the failed resupply launches since the space station has more than enough supplies to last through 2015.