Elon Musk’s SpaceX Fails First Rocket Launch in 364 Launches
One of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets exploded in orbit on Thursday night, ending Elon Musk’s 364 successful launch streak since the last failure in 2016, according to the company.
The first stage of the rocket successfully launched out of Vandenberg Space Force Base, just north of Santa Barbara, at 7:35 p.m., according to The New York Times. After the rocket shed its first stage of boosters, viewers on a live stream of the rocket’s launch noticed a large build-up of ice on the side of the rocket, according to CBS News.
In a statement on their website, the company confirmed “a liquid oxygen leak developed on the second stage” caused the build-up of ice. Liquid oxygen is used to help the propellant burn, according to NASA.