SpaceX Falcon 9 Destroyed in Blast

An explosion at SpaceX’s launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Thursday morning sparked a social media storm when the blast sent clouds of smoke billowing into the sky and shook buildings several miles away.

The Falcon 9 rocket, set for liftoff this Saturday, and its payload were destroyed in the incident.

SpaceX confirmed in a statement, “… in preparation for today’s static fire, there was an anomaly on the pad resulting in the loss of the vehicle and its payload.”

The $200 million Israeli Amos 6 satellite is reported to have been destroyed in the blast, although SpaceX has not yet confirmed its loss. The Amos 6 satellite was scheduled for launch this weekend as part of an effort to deliver Internet access to communities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Although SpaceX has not released details, it reports the launch pad was clear and no injuries resulted from the blast.

NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Martin says Kennedy Space Center’s Emergency Operations Center is monitoring the situation and standing by for assistance.