SpaceX was set to do a static test-fire of a recycled rocket Thursday morning when the rocket exploded, the company confirmed.
The unmanned rocket, which was already launched and landed on April 8, is part of a 229-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket set to carry the SES-10 satellite into orbit on Saturday. That launch was set with a two-hour window expected to open at 3 a.m.
However, social media eyewitnesses saw the rocket explode on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force station in Florida.
In a statement at 10:20 a.m., SpaceX confirmed the explosion for what it called “preparation for today’s static fire.”
“There was an anomaly on the pad resulting in the loss of the vehicle and its payload. Per standard procedure, the pad was clear and there were no injuries,” the statement reads.
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known as SpaceX, is an aerospace manufacturer and space transport service headquartered in California.
The Brevard County Emergency Operations Center tweeted: “There is NO threat to general public from catastrophic abort during static test fire at SpaceX launch pad at CCAFS this morning.”
SpaceX and owner Elon Musk have often active Twitter accounts during launches, but neither had mentioned the explosion as of 10:30 a.m.
The rocket is currently in flames. Staffers at the facility are telling me. Plumes of smoke rising from Launch Complex.
— Robin Seemangal (@nova_road) September 1, 2016
Explosion from #SpaceX rocket can be seen on radar. pic.twitter.com/Bu7NYmz9zo
— Matt Reagan (@ReaganMatt) September 1, 2016
