NASA had to destroy one of its experimental unmanned rockets and watch the wreckage fall into the Atlantic Ocean. Just 29 seconds after lift off, the space agency realized it had no other option but to destroy the experimental rocket after it went off course all of a sudden.

The launch and destruction were carried out Friday morning. The Alliant Techsystems-produced ALV-X1 suborbital rocket was launched from NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia. The error occurred when the ALV-X1 was at an altitude of about 11,000 to 12,000 feet. NASA lost nearly $19 million on this one.

A NASA statement released shortly after the unfortunate event, informed that the agency’s range safety officials were the ones who took the decision to remotely detonate the experimental rocket in order to avoid endangering people or property. The statement said that most of the debris resulted from the blast “is thought to have fallen in the Atlantic Ocean.” Nevertheless, there are reports of some complaints over debris that has fallen on land.

However, whether some debris hit land or not, NASA warned those who might find parts of the wreckage to avoid touching them as it “could be hazardous.” Those who find debris from the wreckage are advised to call Wallops Emergency Operations Center (757-824-1300) and report the finding.

The accident was described as "a very big disappointment but not a setback" by NASA’s vice president of advanced programs for launch systems. He added that he expects the cause of this accident to come to light shortly.

NASA and Alliant Techsystems spend about $19 million on the experimental rocket and the two satellites that it carried and had to be destroyed as well. The two satellites were the HyBoLT (Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition) and the SOAREX sub-orbital re-entry experimental package. None of the two satellites had back-ups, the space agency said in the statement.