A consignment of worms was among the cargo lost when a supply rocket exploded over Virginia after taking off for the International Space Station.

Eighteen groups of students had science projects onboard the rocket, including a team from the Urban Promise Academy in Oakland, California, who were testing red worms to turn garbage into compost in space.

Urban Promise student Cithlali Hernandez said the explosion surprised her and she admitted she was sad thinking about the worms dying.

No humans were injured or killed when Orbital Sciences' unmanned Antares rocket blew up moments after lift-off from from Wallops Island on the Virginia coast.

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