Musk: 'Rockets Are Tricky'

A SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage in the company's "Grasshopper" configuration self-destructed during a test flight Friday in McGregor, TX.

In a statement posted on Twitter, SpaceX said that the vehicle stayed within in its designated test area, and there were no injuries.

Florida Today reports that in a separate Tweet, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said "Rockets are Tricky."

The test was part of the SpaceX program to develop a reusable first stage rocket. The program has been called "Grasshopper", and the first stage rockets have been boosted to increasingly high altitudes and then landed back on a set of legs built into the booster's body. According to SpaceX, the Falcon 9 Reusable Development 1 vehicle, or F9R, was flying a test profile that was "particularly complex, pushing the limits of the vehicle further than any previous test" when it detected a problem and self-destructed.

"With research and development projects, detecting vehicle anomalies during the testing is the purpose of the program," the statement said. "As is our practice, the company will be reviewing the flight record details to learn more about the performance of the vehicle prior to our next test."

SpaceX said in its statement that it will release further details when the data has been analyzed.

NBC News reports that SpaceX will delay Tuesday's planned launch of the AsiaSat 6 communications satellite until Wednesday at the earliest. While spokesman John Taylor said that the two missions are "very different," ... "SpaceX prizes mission assurance above all," he said, adding that the company wants to be sure that what happened with F9R poses no risk to the orbital mission.

(Image from YouTube video)

FMI: www.spacex.com