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Falcon 9's greatest appeal is that it's reusable. Once it launches its payload, the first stage of the rocket comes back to Earth.
The first stage of Falcon 9 can land back on a launchpad, or on a wobbly ship at sea.
Source: Business Insider
Reusable rockets can save SpaceX millions of dollars, since the company doesn't have to start from scratch and build a whole new rocket every time.
Rockets obviously need a lot of tests to make sure they are ready to go to space. The test SpaceX was conducting September 1 was a static test fire. According to SpaceX, the explosion occurred "in preparation for [the] static fire."
Source: Business Insider
The last major SpaceX explosion was in the air in June 2015. Supplies bound for the International Space Station were lost.
Source: Business Insider