A rocket belonging to a U.S. team contending for the Ansari X-prize for the first private space travel exploded shortly after launch on its first test flight.

The rocket, called Rubicon 1, was intended to reach a height of about 10,000 feet exploded after reaching only 1,000 feet above its launch site, on the Pacific coast just south of Olympic National Park. No one was hurt by the explosion.

The 23-feet-long and 38-inch-diameter Rubicon 1 was unmanned. Instead, it held three dummies simulating the weight of a pilot and passengers.

The rocket also crashed about 200 feet away from its lift-off after the onboard parachute failed to deploy. The $20,000 craft will be rebuilt, said Eric Meier, co-founder of Space Transport Corporation, which is making the attempt for the $10 million X Prize.

Only one company competing for the prize has succeeded in launching its rocket. SpaceShipOne, built by aviation pioneer Burt Rutan, became the first privately-funded, manned spacecraft to reach space when it flew to an altitude of about 62 miles (100 kilometers) last June 21.