Just minutes after lifting off, the unmanned SpaceX rocket, Falcon 9, broke apart and burst into flames in Florida Sunday. The space rocket was supposed to head to the International Space Station (ISS) to bring food and supplies, including a robotic Dragon cargo capsule. This incident marked the third failure to send supplies to the ISS in the last eight months, according to NBC.
The Falcon took off at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 10:21 a.m. EDT. But after two minutes, the rocket was seen disintegrating, its debris falling into the Atlantic Ocean. No injuries or damage on the ground was reported.
The failure was confirmed by NASA spokesman George Diller, while SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell said they are still assessing what happened. Further Falcon 9 launches will be suspended until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reviewed the findings.
"Once we identify the issues, we will submit that documentation to the FAA and it will be considered prior to the next flight," said Shotwell in a news conference. "I don't have a timeline for that right now. It certainly isn't going to be a year - (more likely) a month or so."
Meanwhile, supplies have been lost due to the incident, but astronauts relying on food, water and equipment for their operations in space still have enough until October, according to BBC. They can also count on visits from Russian and Japanese freighters in the meantime.
NASA's robotic Dragon capsule, however, was destroyed in the mishap. It was supposed to bring a new docking mechanism to the ISS, which will be used for future vehicles used by astronauts. A second mechanism will have to be brought to the station soon, but NASA will have to build a third replacement to the Dragon as well.
"I think this points out the challenges and difficulties we face in spaceflight," said Bill Gerstenmaier, the administrator for human spaceflight, according to the BBC. "We are operating systems at the edge of their ability. This is a very demanding environment that requires tremendous precision and tremendous amounts of engineering skill - for hardware to perform exactly as it should."
Watch the video of SpaceX's Falcon 9's disintegration below:
