---
title: "SpaceX Rocket Crashes on Video During Barge Landing"
description: "Such is life in the rocket business."
date: "2016-06-15"
modified: "2016-06-15"
authors:
  - name: "Will Sabel Courtney"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/will-sabel-courtney"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/4001/spacex-rocket-crashes-on-video-during-barge-landing"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "crashes"
  - "SpaceX"
---

# SpaceX Rocket Crashes on Video During Barge Landing

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/061516-space-x-crash-hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

[A SpaceX rocket appears to have crashed and burned during landing on an ocean-going barge this morning](<https://spaceflightnow.com/2016/06/15/falcon-9-flight-26-mission-status-center/>), shortly after successfully launching a pair of communications satellites into Earth orbit.

Live video footage of the first stage of [the Falcon 9 rocket](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/2323/watch-as-spacex-launches-another-firecracker-and-it-could-blow-up>) landing on the unmanned barge showed a glimpse of fire, smoke, and what appeared to be a mangled rocket moments before the feed cut out. [The booster has reportedly been classified as "lost."](<https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/06/spacex-falcon-9-dual-satellite-launch/>)

https://twitter.com/_/status/743090380317528064

[SpaceX](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/2876/nasa-and-spacex-are-blasting-an-inflatable-room-into-space>) CEO and compulsive Twitter user Elon Musk confirmed the loss of the Falcon 9 rocket on his preferred social medium.

https://twitter.com/_/status/743096769001578498

https://twitter.com/_/status/743097668725940225

Musk added that [it appeared the rocket crashed because one of its three engines was producing insufficient thrust](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/743097337782763521>). The rapid deceleration needed for landing on the drone barge requires all engines to be running at maximum power, the CEO said, but [the company is working on upgrading the rockets so it can land successfully even if an engine loses power](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/743099301174247424>).

Up until the accident, the Falcon 9's flight appears to have been uneventful. [It took off from Cape Canaveral at 10:29am EDT, with the reusable first-stage separating from the payload-packing second stage roughly two and a half minutes after liftoff](<https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/06/spacex-falcon-9-dual-satellite-launch/>). Both telecom satellites aboard the second stage were successfully deployed into orbit.

As of today, SpaceX is three for eight on successful Falcon 9 barge landings, giving it a .375 batting average.

https://youtube.com/embed/ojuxyuMaD08

## Author
Will is the former managing editor of *RIDES Magazine* and the former online editor for *0-60 Magazine*. He has worked for *Time Out New York* and *Rolling Stone*, and was the creator of *College Cars Online*, the first automotive blog specifically targeted at college students and young professionals.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/willsabelcourtney>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/willscourtney>)