NASA Space Lander Crashes, Blows Up During Test Flight [VIDEO]

Part of the process of exploration and learning is trial and error.

The Morpheus landing project vehicle crashed Thursday during a free-flight test at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After a series of "tethered" tests, Morpheus was allowed, for the first time, to attempt to fly free on it's own. It's one of a number of test projects by NASA for future space flight and landing missions. The $7 million project is designed to test autonomous (or computer-directed) navigation and environmentally "friendly" fuels. Unfortunately, the craft did not perform as expected. It veered off course, crashed, and burst into flames.

No mention was made of any injuries;  NASA also did not say if the craft was totally destroyed. Officials say the preliminary indication is a guidance system component failed causing it to lose balance.