An unmanned rocket carrying supplies, experiments and equipment for the International Space Station exploded minutes after lifting off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Sunday, NASA said.
The failure is the first for the 63-meter-long Falcon 9, which successfully completed six previous trips to deliver cargo for NASA as part of a 15-flight contract with the U.S. space agency.
Elon Musk, whose SpaceX company developed the spacecraft, also confirmed the incident via Twitter: "There was an overpressure event in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank. Data suggests counterintuitive cause."
There was an overpressure event in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank. Data suggests counterintuitive cause.
-- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 28, 2015
Although the failure raises questions about NASA's ability to service the ISS, the three crew members in orbit are under no immediate threat since the space station has about four months of supplies on board.
Watch the liftoff and explosion:
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