--- title: Elon Musk: Rocket Explosion Is 'Huge Blow' to SpaceX description: It also happened to occur on his birthday canonical: https://time.com/3948132/elon-musk-rocket-explosion-spacex/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-07T18:10:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:26:02.783Z article:section: Science og:title: Elon Musk Says Rocket Explosion Is 'Huge Blow' to SpaceX og:description: It also happened to occur on his birthday og:url: https://time.com/3948132/elon-musk-rocket-explosion-spacex/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40fbf5708cf3b008/698859e8524fc01f9bdf3729/gettyimages-471774260.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2667 og:image:height: 1500 og:image:alt: Tesla Motors Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk Unveils New Generation Of Batteries og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Elon Musk Says Rocket Explosion Is 'Huge Blow' to SpaceX twitter:description: It also happened to occur on his birthday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40fbf5708cf3b008/698859e8524fc01f9bdf3729/gettyimages-471774260.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Elon Musk Says Rocket Explosion Is 'Huge Blow' to SpaceX > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=3c3eeb7b-55e2-426c-9d38-e2b0eefba417&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Explode On Third Mission [Watch (HLS stream): Watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Explode On Third Mission](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tWdl2YU8.m3u8) (0:54)  _Published 2015-06-28. Watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 Explode Rocket On Third Mission_  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Jul 7, 2015 6:10 PM UTC  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Jul 7, 2015 6:10 PM UTC SpaceX engineers don’t know what went wrong during the June 28 explosion of an unmanned SpaceX rocket, SpaceX founder [Elon Musk said Tuesday](http://mashable.com/2015/07/07/elon-musk-falcon-9-rocket-failure/?utm%5Fcid=mash-com-Tw-main-link). “Obviously it’s a huge blow to SpaceX,” Musk said, [according to](http://mashable.com/2015/07/07/elon-musk-falcon-9-rocket-failure/?utm%5Fcid=mash-com-Tw-main-link) Mashable. Musk added that the explosion was especially depressing since it came on his birthday. “It was a real downer,” he said. This was the first Flacon 9 rocket of 19 launched by SpaceX to explode. The ship was carrying 4,000 pounds of food and supplies and was on its way to NASA’s Space Station. It disintegrated within two minutes of its launch from Florida. The accident is an obstacle to SpaceX’s mission to make space travel more affordable and create reusable rockets for missions to Mars. \[[_Mashable_](http://mashable.com/2015/07/07/elon-musk-falcon-9-rocket-failure/?utm%5Fcid=mash-com-Tw-main-link)\] ## Transcript Altitude 32 kilometers, speed 1 kilometer per second, down range distance 13 kilometers. Penny coming back shows vehicle on course, on track. 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