SpaceX ISS resupply rocket explodes after liftoff

Nature : Yesterday an unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded about 139 seconds after launch . It was the seventh ship launched by the US aerospace company under its contract with NASA to carry supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). Although the cause of the explosion is under investigation, preliminary analysis revealed a potential problem with the upper-stage liquid oxygen tank, according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. It was the third resupply mission to the ISS to fail within the past nine months. Another US rocket, launched by Orbital Sciences, exploded during launch last October, and a Russian spacecraft lost control after launch in April. Although the SpaceX vehicle carried more than 2 tons of goods , including food, the three astronauts onboard the ISS still have about four months’ worth of supplies. The next supply mission will be a Russian Progress rocket scheduled to launch on 3 July, and Japan has a mission planned for August.