SpaceX rocket crashes after launching satellites

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has crashed following the successful launch of two television satellites.

The rocket carried two European commercial satellites into orbit, which will now deliver television broadcasting across Latin America.

The space exploration company warned prior to the launch that a landing would be challenging because of the mission’s high orbit delivery.

SpaceX had hoped the rocket would return unscathed to Earth’s surface for a fourth successive safe ocean landing.

However, the rocket exploded and crashed into its drone ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Following the crash, SpaceX founder Elon Musk took to Twitter, describing the incident as an “RUD=Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly”.

"Maybe hardest impact to date. Drone ship still ok," he tweeted.

The mission was only SpaceX’s second dual-satellite launch, and may be considered a partial success, with both satellites now safely in orbit.