A remote control beam apparatus designed to blast targets from orbit has exploded in a fireball, sending a payload into space, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA said it notified the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday of the accident at a test site on the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The explosion occurred early Tuesday at the test site in the Canaveral Space Launch Complex 39B.
The FAA said no one was injured.
The company that designed the apparatus was Airborne Tactical Systems.
The explosion happened in a test tube used to test new equipment that will be used to launch rockets.
The Federal Aviation Authority is investigating.
It has not yet been determined whether the blast was caused by a human error or by a catastrophic failure.
The test occurred just after a test of the new F-35 fighter jet.