Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket breaks up over the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, June 28, 2015.(Photo: NASA TV)
CAPE CANAVERAL. -- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying supplies for the International Space Station broke apart less than three minutes after a 10:21 a.m. Sunday blastoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
SpaceX confirmed the rocket's first stage experienced a problem as it climbed into clear skies, and engineers have begun analyzing data to pinpoint what went wrong.
"Falcon 9 experienced a problem shortly before first stage shutdown," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter. "Will provide more info as soon as we review the data."
A press conference providing more information is planned at 12:30 p.m.
The failure was SpaceX's first by a Falcon 9 after 18 successful missions.
Lost were more than 4,300 pounds of food, supplies and spare parts bound for the ISS, and a docking adapter intended to be use by future commercial U.S. crew vehicles in a few years.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 is expected to launch some of those crew missions, and the rocket failure is sure to raise questions about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which is led from Kennedy Space Center.
[h=2]UP NEXT[/h][h=2]03[/h]
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying an unmanned Dragon capsule exploded after liftoff today from Cape Canaveral, Florida. VPC
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed