MIAMI // An unmanned SpaceX rocket exploded less than three minutes after lift-off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Sunday, in the first major disaster for the company headed by internet tycoon Elon Musk.
The accident was the third in less than a year involving US and Russian supply ships bound for the International Space Station, and raised new concerns about the flow of food and gear to the astronauts living in orbit.
Skies were sunny and clear for the 1421 GMT launch of the gleaming white Falcon 9 rocket that was meant to propel the Dragon cargo ship on a routine supply mission, the seventh for SpaceX so far.
But two minutes, 19 seconds into the flight, contact was lost. Live television images from SpaceX’s webcast and Nasa TV showed a huge puff of smoke billowing outward for several seconds, then tiny bits of the rocket falling like confetti against a backdrop of blue sky.
“The vehicle has broken up,” said Nasa commentator George Diller.
SpaceX’s live webcast of the launch went silent as the rocket exploded.
Later, on Twitter, Mr Musk said the Falcon 9 “experienced a problem shortly before first stage shutdown” – referring to the phase of flight before the cargo ship would have been able to separate from the first stage of the rocket and reach orbit.
The problem appeared to be linked to excessive pressure in the liquid oxygen tank, Mr Musk wrote.
The Dragon cargo ship was carrying 1,800 kilograms of gear to the space station, including a large parking space, known as an International Docking Adaptor, designed to make it easier for an array of commercial crew spacecraft to dock at the orbiting lab in the future.
“Very sorry to see @SpaceX launch failure. Serious ramifications for Space Station resupply. Good thing it’s international,” tweeted Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.
Nasa administrator Charles Bolden said the US space agency was “disappointed” at the loss but that the space station has “sufficient supplies for the next several months.” Three men are currently living at the space station. Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and American astronaut Scott Kelly began their year-long mission in orbit back in March.
“Sadly failed. Space is hard,” Kelly said on Twitter, posting a picture of his view of the Florida coast from space.* Agence France-Presse
