This is the moment SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket exploded and destroyed Facebook's new communications satellite.

The explosion at 9.07AM Eastern Time on September 1 took place during a routine test firing of the unmanned rocket as its launch date drew close.

While nobody was hurt in the incident, the blast saw the loss of the rocket and its expensive payload: the Amos-6 satellite, which was planned to be used by Mark Zuckerberg's social network.

For Elon Musk, the boss of the private space company, the destruction of the rocket will be a loss – albeit one the company will learn from. At present, the cause of the fireball – the smoke from which could be seen for miles around the Kennedy Space Center – is unknown.

SpaceX said the "anomaly" started "around the upper stage oxygen tank and occurred during propellant loading of the vehicle". It continued to say the data from the failed test will be studied in a bid to identify the exact problem.

The blast occurred as the private space firm was preparing to launch its heaviest payload to date. The satellite built by Spacecom was due to launch on September 3 and act as a communications satellite.

Notably, the Amos 6 was due, in part, to be used by Facebook. In October 2015 the social network's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, said the satellite would be used as the company's "first project to deliver internet from space".

Zuckerberg, who is currently visiting Africa, intended to use the satellite to beam internet to the continent.

"I'm deeply disappointed to hear that SpaceX's launch failure destroyed our satellite that would have provided connectivity to so many entrepreneurs and everyone else across the continent", he said on his Facebook Page.

This firing test was a routine test ahead of the planned launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this weekend.

This article was originally published by WIRED UK