CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) -- A powerful new version of Boeing's Delta 3 rocket exploded shortly after blasting off from Cape Canaveral on its maiden flight Wednesday.

"We have lost the rocket," Boeing spokesman Perry Cain told CNN, adding that he did not have any details on why the rocket failed.

The $225 million mission to put in orbit a private Galaxy 10 communications satellite, operated by PanAmSat Corp., ended in a bright flash of flame and burning debris just one minute and 20 seconds after the rocket lifted off at 9:17 p.m. EDT.

The mission had been delayed for two days because of Hurricane Bonnie, and Boeing was eager to get the rocket off the launch pad before Hurricane Danielle threatened a crucial tracking station on the island of Antigua in the Caribbean.

The new booster was designed to haul twice as much cargo as its predecessor, the Delta 2.

The rocket was designed to compete against Europe's Ariane and the Lockheed Martin Atlas rockets for lucrative commercial launch contracts.

The Galaxy 10 communications satellite was designed to beam television channels to cable operators across the United States and the Caribbean.