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SpaceX Rocket Blast Destroys Satellite for Facebook Project

Blast sets back effort to spread internet access in Africa
No workers were injured in accident following static fire test

Video player cover image — Raw Video: SpaceX Rocket Explodes

September 1, 2016, 10:28 AM EDTUpdated onSeptember 1, 2016, 7:41 PM EDT

A SpaceX rocket blew up on a launchpad in Florida, marking the second loss of a spacecraft by Elon Musk’s venture in a little more than a year and hobbling a Facebook Inc. initiative to spread internet access across Africa.

The accident occurred Thursday at Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 40 as SpaceX held a dress rehearsal for Saturday’s planned launch of an Israeli communications satellite. Both the Falcon 9 rocket and its payload were incinerated as fireballs scorched the structure.