The launch of a SpaceX experimental rocket ended in a fiery crash on Wednesday in the U.S. state of Texas. 

There were no people on board and no injuries. The test flight is part of the aerospace company's mission to land on Mars. 

The spaceship prototype successfully reached its intended altitude before running into problems as it descended. 

Despite the accident, CEO Elon Musk praised the event as "successful data collection" toward the ultimate goal of building "a fully reusable" spacecraft that can land on Mars.

He says that could happen as early as in four to six years.

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