Works To End Speculation That The Booster Launched Sunday Was Destroyed

SpaceX is working hard to quash Internet rumors that its Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket exploded in orbit after its launch Sunday from Vandenberg AFB in California.

In an e-mail, SpaceX founder Elon Musk told NBC News that "There was definitely no explosion of any kind." He said Falcon 9 deployed all six payloads into their proper orbits.

But Space-Track.org said it tracked as many as 20 objects in a "scatter" orbit a few hours after launch. Satellite-watcher Robert Christy said on his U.K.-based blog Zarya that "one of the satellites may be the suspect, but the most likely culprit is SpaceX's Falcon 9."

In an e-mail distributed to the media, SpaceX said that the debris seen by Space-Track.org was likely insulation that had come off the fuel dome during a controlled venting of unused propellants. Spokeswoman Emily Shanklin said that the insulation would be reflective and trackable by Space-Track. She said another possibility was that the debris was from the student satellite separation mechanisms on board the spacecraft. She said "SpaceX will continue to review to help identify the source of the extra debris."

The cloud of vented propellant caused a flurry of UFO reports from southern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius and Reunion.

(Image provided by SpaceX)

FMI: www.spacex.com, www.spacetrack.org