NASA SpaceX mission to ISS explodes after launch

Washington, June 29: The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket-propelling Dragon spacecraft laden with crucial supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) exploded shortly after lift-off in Florida on Sunday. Two virtual reality headsets to empower astronauts aboard the ISS were part of the supplies on board the SpaceX's seventh commercial re-supply mission. "We are disappointed in the loss of the latest SpaceX cargo re-supply mission to the International Space Station. However, the astronauts are safe aboard the station and have sufficient supplies for the next several months," NASA administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. The cargo included food, systems hardware, research materials, computer resources and spacewalking equipment. It also carried a docking adaptor to prepare the ISS for future commercial missions. The SpaceX Falcon 9 launch failure marks three cargo failures from three different launch providers in the past few months.