--- title: Watch this SpaceX Rocket Explode Mid-Flight During a Controlled Test description: A SpaceX rocket exploded over McGregor, Texas during a test flight Friday, though no one was injured in the incident. canonical: https://time.com/3165807/spacex-rocket-explodes/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-23T19:08:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:38.148Z article:section: Science og:title: Watch this SpaceX Rocket Explode Mid-Flight During a Controlled Test og:description: A SpaceX rocket exploded over McGregor, Texas during a test flight Friday, though no one was injured in the incident. og:url: https://time.com/3165807/spacex-rocket-explodes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch this SpaceX Rocket Explode Mid-Flight During a Controlled Test twitter:description: A SpaceX rocket exploded over McGregor, Texas during a test flight Friday, though no one was injured in the incident. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Watch: SpaceX Rocket Detonated Mid-Flight During Test ## Video: SpaceX To Build Launch Site In Texas [Watch (HLS stream): SpaceX To Build Launch Site In Texas](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sk4V6SuJ.m3u8) (1:27)  _Published 2014-08-05. Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced the first ever exclusively commercial launch site will be about 20 miles east of Brownsville, Texas. SpaceX also launched the latest AsiaSat satellite — its most powerful ever — into orbit Tuesday morning._ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Aug 23, 2014 7:08 PM UTC by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Aug 23, 2014 7:08 PM UTC A SpaceX rocket exploded over McGregor, Texas during a test flight Friday, though no one was injured in the incident. A problem was detected during a test of a three-engine version of SpaceX’s F9R vehicle, the company said, and the flight’s termination system then automatically self-destructed, bringing the mission to a sudden end. “Today’s test was particularly complex, pushing the limits of the vehicle further than any previous test,” SpaceX said in a statement. SpaceX is a space transport company founded by PayPal founder and Tesla executive Elon Musk. The company has been working closely with NASA, and its Dragon capsule has been used to send unmanned resupply missions to the International Space Station. SpaceX’s F9R rocket is reusable, and could make spaceflight 100 times cheaper, Musk has said, [NBC](http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/spacexs-falcon-9r-rocket-soars-3-300-feet-back-n97771) reports. Musk said in a Twitter post that there were no “near injuries” in the explosion. > [](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/502974683864518657) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3165807/spacex-rocket-explodes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3165807/spacex-rocket-explodes/"},"headline":"Watch: SpaceX Rocket Detonated Mid-Flight During Test","datePublished":"2014-08-23T19:08:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:06:38.148Z","description":"A SpaceX rocket detonated automatically when a problem was detected during a test flight","url":"https://time.com/3165807/spacex-rocket-explodes/","keywords":["space travel"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space-travel/","name":"space travel"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3165807/spacex-rocket-explodes/","name":"Watch: SpaceX Rocket Detonated Mid-Flight During Test"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"SpaceX To Build Launch Site In Texas","description":"Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced the first ever exclusively commercial launch site will be about 20 miles east of Brownsville, Texas. 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