--- 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 > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=525e4a77-4b09-41dc-b171-29750cf2acdb&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## 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) ## Transcript Three, two, one, zero. Rocket launches like this one are on the way for one of the poorest cities in the US after Texas governor Rick Perry officially revealed the location for SpaceX's new launch site. Billionaire Elon Musk's space transportation company will build the site, the first ever exclusively commercial launch site about 20 miles east of Brownsville Texas, at Pocatikka beach. The site isn't actually in Brownsville, but the governors announcement predicted it would bring 300 jobs and 85 Million Dollar of investment in the local economy. Headlines quickly pointed to this as a boon for the town. Brownsville has a median income just more than $ 30, 000, with more than 36 % of the town earning below the poverty rate. The highest rate in the country. And Musk's company got a 2. 3 million dollar investment from the state, to bring the site to Texas, which troubled some commentators. To have so many businesses that are based on models that require a certain amount of government support. Seems to be a risk to me. Either way, the site will be a busy one as Engadget reports SpaceX is already cleared for 12 launches a year and speculates Musk wants to ultimately have multiple launches a day. Coincidentally, SpaceX sent one of the Falcon nine rockets the site will be hosting into space on Tuesday, successfully launching a commercial telecommunications satellite into orbit from Cape Canaveral Florida ```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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