Space Imaging's commercial Earth observing satellite, Ikonos, has captured extraordinary "before" and "after" photos of the Brazilian launch pad where 21 workers were killed in a rocket explosion last week.

Brazil's third VLS launcher exploded last Friday at the Alcantara base on the country's northeastern Atlantic coastline. The rocket was sitting on the pad while technicians were performing tests in advance of liftoff scheduled a few days later.

Initial reports suggest that one of the vehicle's four boosters may have ignited prematurely, triggering the launch pad disaster.

Orbiting high above Earth, Ikonos snapped views of the launch pad in September 2001 and again on Saturday, one day after the tragedy. The "after" scene shows evidence of the blast, the collapsed launch pad and burned vegetation.

Ikonos image taken on September 5, 2001 shows the "before" scene. Credit: Space Imaging

Ikonos image taken on August 23, 2003 shows the "after" scene. Credit: Space Imaging