[Different angle] $150 million Facebook satellite explodes on the tarmac due to faulty SpaceX rockets

A ROCKET has exploded at Cape Canaveral space centre – blowing up Facebook’s £150million internet satellite.

NASA says SpaceX was conducting a test firing of its pioneering unmanned rocket when disaster struck.

A series of explosions sent smoke and flames shooting through the sky and shook buildings miles away.

he blast took with it Facebook's first satellite costing the company a whopping £150 million.

SpaceX - founded by PayPal and Tesla tycoon Elon Musk - confirmed there was an anomaly on the launch pad which resulted in the loss of the rocket and its payload.

The Israeli made Amos-6 communications satellite was, according to Tech Crunch, carrying technology to allow Mark Zuckerberg's firm to spot beam wireless internet directly to smartphones in sub-Saharan Africa.

The social media company was working in conjunction with a French satellite provider named Eutelsat to lease the communication array for five years.

The first explosion occurred shortly before 9am with a second blast following about 20 minutes later.

Buildings several miles away shook from the blast and multiple explosions continued for several minutes. A cloud of dark smoke filled the overcast sky.

The test, considered routine, was in advance of a planned Saturday launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Additional details were not immediately available. But sirens could be heard in the aftermath.

NASA SpaceX's major customer said the explosion occurred at Launch Complex 40 at the Air Force station, and Kennedy emergency staff was on standby.