AN unmanned Delta II rocket carrying a $40 million US Air Force navigational satellite exploded yesterday shortly after blast off from Cape Canaveral Air Station, the US Air Force said.
In a statement, the public affairs office at the base said the explosion occurred about 10 seconds after the McDonnell Douglas rocket took off.
"The vehicle self destructed," the statement said.
Eyewitnesses said the explosion was spectacular.
"I heard the main explosion, and after that I heard three, four, more minor explosions and more smoke and more fireballs, and that's basically it," said Kurt Ronstrom, a freelance photographer who was photographing the blast oft about two miles from the launch pad.
Photographers and reporters about a mile from the launch pad had to dive for cover when the blast occurred. They had been routinely advised beforehand that in the unlikely event of an explosion they might be at risk.
The rocket was carrying a Navstar Block IIR satellite. The air force said parts of it had fallen into a cleared safety area in the Atlantic Ocean and onto the air station.
"There were no injured personnel," it said.
Television news footage showed sparks showering the launch pad seconds after take off. Half an hour after the explosion, witnesses said smoke was continuing to billow from the launch pad.
The launch had originally been scheduled for Thursday, but was delayed until yesterday because of high winds.