SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket, attached to the US satellite Zuma, from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Sunday at 8pm EST time following weeks of delays.
The details have been shrouded in mystery but Zuma is believed to a code name for a US Government spy satellite on a mission into low Earth orbit.
Despite a smooth launch, the mission reportedly turned to disaster as the Zuma spacecraft failed to reach orbit as expected.
Two US officials, speaking anonymously, said the spacecraft did not separate from the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket as intended and is likely to have broken up or fallen into the sea.
One of the officials described it as “a write-off”.