Yikes! Falcon9 explodes during routine test a cape

[cjolley]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/sep/1/nasa-explosion-rocks-spacex-launch-site-in-florida/

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An explosion has rocked the SpaceX launch site in Florida.
NASA says SpaceX was conducting a test firing of its unmanned rocket when the blast occurred Thursday morning. The test, considered routine, was in advance of a planned Saturday launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Buildings several miles away shook from the blast, and multiple explosions continued for several minutes. A cloud of dark smoke filled the overcast sky.
Additional details were not immediately available. But sirens could be heard in the aftermath.
The rocket was supposed to hoist an Israeli satellite this weekend.

SpaceX issued a statement that says, "SpaceX can confirm that in preparation for today's static fire, there was an anomaly on the pad resulting in the loss of the vehicle and its payload. Per standard procedure, the pad was clear and there were no injuries."

[MultimediaMan]

The Vehicle underwent a RUD event.


Beum.

[cjolley]

http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-rocket-explosion-launch-pad-2016-9

1, "at least 5 minutes before the engines were supposed to briefly ignite"
2, "The explosion propagated from the center of the rocket, from what I saw"
3, "The rocket itself, according to one source, was not the recycled one..."

So basically wtf.

ABC says it was during fueling prior to pre-flight static fire test.

Now on youtube. Tank failure?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BgJEXQkjNQ

[MultimediaMan]

Likely a tank-related failure...those tanks have a 3x-4x pressure failure rating (which is measured long before the tank would breach - the tank material would be permanently displaced - hence the "failure", but long before the tank could actually rupture), so the chances of the tank failing is pretty low. My bet is a valve or fitting failure of some kind, as those have moving parts and may not have any airspace in them when feeding liquids (Hydraulic displacement failure - aka "Hydraulic Lock"). To steal a quote from somebody who knows: "Space is hard".

[MultimediaMan]

Some Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BgJEXQkjNQ

If you look at it closely (~1:11), you can see the upper umbilical jerk suddenly before the explosion.

[MultimediaMan]

Color commentary for the otherwise terse SpaceX announcement...

1, "...at least 5 minutes before the engines were supposed to briefly ignite" - However, burning the whole rocket down to the ground was cool, too.
2, "The explosion propagated from the center of the rocket, from what I saw" - Like an M80, dude.
3, "The rocket itself, according to one source, was not the recycled one..." - This one won't have that problem...