A SpaceX rocket exploded on the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida Thursday morning.
Images posted by witnesses on Twitter show a huge, black plume of smoke in the air that can be seen from miles away.
SpaceX pad on fire!! pic.twitter.com/Gx1KNEyvRD
— Kris (@krisn99) September 1, 2016
The rocket’s explosion was so large that it could be seen on radar. SpaceX rockets have previous exploded several times during landing attempts, which the company’s founder and CEO Elon Musk called a “huge blow.”
Wow, SpaceX rocket just blew up on pad. Shook our whole bldg. pic.twitter.com/PMxZA4v4IV
— SpaceCoastTiger (@TigernBear) September 1, 2016
“Will get back to you when we have details to share,” Phil Larson, a communications manager for SpaceX, told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
SpaceX plans to use a similar rocket to launch a human into space in October 2017. The company is currently racing Boeing to be the first private company to send humans to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX and Boeing, along with other companies, have made huge advancements in reusable rocketry, which has the potential to greatly reduce the costs of getting into space.
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