US: unmanned space rocket explodes after take-off
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket blows up after Florida lift-off enroute to International Space Station
WASHINGTON
A rocket carrying supplies to the International Space Station has exploded minutes after launch.
SpaceX's unmanned Falcon 9 craft blew up Sunday in Florida, according to NASA.
NASA said the Falcon 9 rocket took off on schedule at 10.21 a.m. local time (0621 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Two minutes after lift-off the rocked disintegrated due to a blast.
"We appear to have had a launch vehicle failure," NASA spokesman George Diller said, noting that the rocket "experienced an anomaly" at the 148th second of the flight.
It was the third failure of a space station resupply mission in eight months, NASA revealed.
Video footage shows debris from the blast falling into the Atlantic Ocean.
NASA and SpaceX are gathering information about the failure.
According to SpaceX, a manufacturer and launcher of advanced rockets and spacecraft, the failed mission was going to be seventh "official Commercial Resupply (CRS) mission to the orbiting lab".
Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.
