Elon Musk’s SpaceX third time unlucky, Falcon 9 explodes after take-off
The SpaceX jinx continued with the rocket exploding for the third time consecutively. After two oh-so-close attempts to land a rocket stage on a seagoing platform, SpaceX was tried again on Sunday at 10.21 with the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket.
The primary objective of the mission, due for takeoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 10:21 a.m. ET, is to deliver a robotic Dragon capsule with more than two and a half tons of supplies, equipment and experiments — ranging from a new docking adapter for accommodating future U.S.-built spaceships to a virtual-reality headset for the space station’s crew.
This was supposed to be the first robotic cargo delivery since a Russian Progress capsule went bust in April, resulting in the loss of the craft’s 3-ton payload. The Dragon’s payload includes food, oxygen and other much-needed basics must have put extra pressure on SpaceX for a successful launch.
The SpaceX tweeted just moment ago that the mission was unsuccessful
The vehicle experienced an anomaly on ascent. Team is investigating. Updates to come.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 28, 2015
NASA said that exactly 2.19s after the launch the Falcon 9 exploded in a pile of dust putting SpaceX’s third mission in jeopardy.
Just before the launch, SpaceX’s vice president of mission assurance, Hans Koenigsmann had told reporters that his company was up to the job. “Dragon has been super-reliable.”
