SpaceX rocket engine explodes in factory during test

A copy of the new-generation Merlin rocket engine exploded during a test at a SpaceX plant in Texas. Elon Musk’s company says it doesn’t know anything about the cause yet. SpaceX reports that there were no fatalities or injuries.

The rocket engine tested, a Block 5 version, has not yet been used for rocket launches and would be used for the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket next year. According to SpaceX, the explosion happened over the weekend, during a “qualification test,” The Washington Post reports.

A source told the website Space.com that the blast happened during a Lox drop test, where the engine is filled with liquid oxygen to make sure there are no leaks. The rocket engine would not have started. Somewhere during the test, something ignited near the liquid oxygen, but SpaceX doesn’t know whether the engine is now completely unusable.

It may take two to four weeks for the test space to be repaired, but SpaceX says this will not affect the current Falcon 9 launch schedule. Of those, SpaceX has launched 16 so far this year. On thirteen of these launches, the first stage eventually landed again for future reuse. Three more launches are planned for the remainder of 2017. SpaceX also plans to launch the Falcon Heavy, a heavier version of the Falcon 9 rocket, before the end of this year. Tests with this rocket’s booster were completed in September.

SpaceX has had many explosions in the past. For example, in September 2016, a Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launch pad during a test. The missile, the Amos 6 communications satellite and the launch pad were destroyed. The cause was a design flaw in one of the used helium cartridges in the liquid oxygen tank in the rocket’s second stage. In June 2016, a rocket exploded while landing on a drone ship, and in June 2015, a Falcon 9 rocket, carrying cargo to the ISS, exploded minutes after launch.