Facebook satellite destroyed in Falcon9 explosion

The rocket, which had not been used for a previous launch, was undergoing a standard pre-launch static fire test at Cape Canaveral, Florida when the explosion occurred.

According to SpaceX, this ‘anomaly’ originated around the upper stage oxygen tank and occurred during propellant loading of the vehicle.

The AMOS-6 mission was set to deliver a satellite that would improve Facebook’s coverage in sub-Saharan Africa.

“I'm deeply disappointed to hear that SpaceX's launch failure destroyed our satellite that would have provided connectivity to so many entrepreneurs and everyone else across the continent,” said Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg via the social network.

SpaceX’s quest to reuse its rockets suffered high-profile setbacks in January and June 2015 when Falcon 9 rockets were lost during landing and launch phases. Yesterday’s explosion overshadows notable successes for Elon Musk’s space company, including the successful landing of a Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship in May, 2016. The company has yet to reuse a rocket, however, and recently announced plans to do so in the near future may now be jeopardised after this latest failure.