[justlurking]

There was a lot of discussion about this when it occurred.

Most videos of the explosion are from a distance, and the image of the explosion occurs about 12 seconds before the sound reaches the microphone.

This is a video of the explosion, with the audio shifted so that it syncs with the image:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWCew6rItgY

The "quieter bang" occurs between 1:06 and 1:07. The first visual indication occurs at 1:12.

One suggestion has been that the "quieter bang" is actually the sound of the explosion propagated through the ground, at a much faster speed than through the air. I don't know enough about the different propagation rates to know if that's a reasonable explanation.

[AC Beach Patrol]

What’s Bezos’ alibi?

[justlurking]

This is the Washington Post article referenced above:

Implication of sabotage adds intrigue to SpaceX investigation

[Yo-Yo]

.50 cal sniper fire from ULA’s roof? Anybody know the whereabouts of Jason Bourne?

[dfwgator]

[GraceG]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arIc1NlHvV0

[George from New England]

Naw — nobody in this Obama administration will lift a finger to look.

[BenLurkin]

There were several astute FReepers who suggested at the time that the low bang was a shot of some sort (I thought it was the guy putting down his coffee cup)

[BenLurkin]

SpaceX Falcon9 Explosion - Synced Sound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2v5tTJhUGI

[COBOL2Java]

Guess Bezos neglected to send his “donation” to the Clinton Global Initiative.

[gaijin]

The corruption is not limited to our political and intelligence systems.

there’s no proof but I don’t find this impossible with so much at stake.

[TigersEye]

Maybe the first small explosion was internal to the rocket and not big enough to show signs externally.

[spel_grammer_an_punct_polise]

A Facebook satellite?

Well, then maybe it is a good thing that it blew up!

[Fester Chugabrew]

My very first look at the video suggested sabotage as well.

[Delta 21]

You cant tell me that this is the ONLY camera footage of the explosion.

[DJ Frisat]

Sabotage? Was it Trump, or George W Bush’s fault???

[lewislynn]

We should all be outraged because even though it’s not NASA it’s still our money...

[ETL]

The film Contact staring Jodie Foster had a plot eerily similar to the conspiracy theory posed here. Eccentric billionaire finances a private space project only to have it explode on the launch pad at the hands of an (albino) saboteur.

[DenverCossack]

This is BALONEY! Elon you are such a drama queen! Check your weld schedules and weld x-rays in the area of the explosion before you start with the drama. It looks like they unzipped the tank on the pad to me. Probably due to bad welds (expulsions or cryogenic cracking) or just a weak welding schedule to begin with. Do your proper Failure Analysis before you start shooting your mouth off.

[SoCal Pubbie]

Did someone say sabotage?

[House Atreides]

Did Bezos contract any work to Samsung? That could explain an explosion. :-)