falcon rocket explosion
Screengrab of the object passing the rocket for the second time, just as it exploded.
Earlier this week Elon Musk's Falcon 9 Space X rocket burst into flames during fueling and moments before a test launch, resulting in massive financial and technological loss for the company.

The explosion was chalked up to a faulty rocket engine that created a spark, causing the entire system to viciously explode, even damaging the launchpad.

While the company and US agencies are investigating the exact cause of the explosion, video footage appears to show an anomalous object - literally, an Unidentified Flying Object - passing nearby.

There are actually two occasions in the following video of a mystery object zipping by, apparently flying at hypersonic speed. Whatever it is, it appears to be passing by in the distance, i.e. beyond the rocket launch site, and is thus unlikely to be an insect or a bird flying past the camera's immediate foreground:


SpaceX's next launch was supposed to be on Saturday, September 3, with this rocket carrying the Israeli communications satellite Amos-6 into geostationary orbit, ostensibly to provide Facebook broadband to Africa.