The Falcon 9 rocket successfully boosted two communication satellites into orbit, but the booster failed to land on the drone ship off the Florida coast, SpaceX confirmed.
The rocket lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time, carrying the EUTELSAT 117 West B and ABS-2A to geostationary transfer orbits.
Following the launch, the booster was supposed to land on the drone barge Of Course I Still Love You, but the video of the landing cut off amid smoke and flames.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the rocket suffered a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" on attempting to land, specifying that thrust was too low on one of the three landing engines.
Upgrades will be made to the rockets in order to compensate for this specific problem, Musk added, saying they would probably be complete by the end of the year.
The setback comes after a string of successful landings on both a ground landing pad and the drone barge.