SpaceX rocket heading for ISS explodes after US launch

The unmanned SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket, designed to carry supplies to the International Space Station, has exploded minutes after it was launched in Florida, NASA has said.

Sunday's incident occured approximately two and a half minutes after lift-off from Cape Canaveral in the US state.

With more than 5,200 pounds of space station cargo on board, including the first docking port designed for future commercial crew capsules, the 63-metre rocket was SpaceX's 19th Falcon 9 launch since its 2010 debut. 

Pieces of the rocket could be seen falling into the Atlantic.

A couple of minutes after the explosion, NASA tweeted that "space is hard".