SpaceX's Faclon 9 rocket explodes mid-flight

The Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral this morning exploded just minutes after liftoff. The rocket was supposed to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, and no humans were on board. It was the first Falcon 9 that has ever failed, following 18 successful missions.
The mission was also going to serve as the third test of SpaceX's reusable rocket plan. The first stage of the Falcon 9 was supposed to separate three minutes after launch and land itself on a drone ship at sea. The next time SpaceX is scheduled to test the Falcon 9's reusability is on the August 9th launch of the Jason-3 satellite. SpaceX has said that landing will be attempted on land at Vandenburg Airforce Base, not at sea.

There is no immediate threat to life of the astronauts aboard the space station. There is no immediate threat to life of the astronauts aboard the space station. Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, has another resupply mission scheduled for July 3rd. Since NASA always plans ahead, the astronauts are currently stocked through October with supplies.

Still, this is the third space station resupply mission to fail in the last year. In October, Orbital ATK's Antares rocket exploded on the launchpad. And last month, Russia's space agency Roscosmos sent a resupply ship to the station only to have it spin wildly out of control and eventually burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.