NASA News 2014: Rocket Carrying Equipment, Food Into Space Explodes While Taking Off From Virginia [Video]
An unmanned space station supply rocket exploded moments after launching Tuesday from Wallops Island, Virginia. No injuries have been reported.
Orbital Sciences Corp. reported via Twitter shortly after the 6:22 p.m. explosion that there was a "vehicle anomaly." There was no clear immediate reason behind what went wrong during the launch.
Associate Administrator of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, Bill Gerstenmaier, said, "this shows how difficult and maddening this business really is" during a news conference.
Officials said an investigation would begin Wednesday. Six seconds into the rocket's flight, things started to go haywire. The range safety officer sent a self-destruct command 14 seconds after the rocket began to show signs of difficulty.
This mission was the third of eight planned launches to the International Space Station carrying cargo supplies provided with Orbital Sciences Corp. The resupply trips is part of the $1.9 billion contract between NASA and the private company out of Dulles, Virginia.
The Antaras rocket was carrying 4,483 pounds of equipment and 1,360 pounds of food. The spacecraft within the rocket, a Cyngus cargo logistics spacecraft, was set to orbit above Earth and dock on the ISS on Nov. 2. This trip's vehicle and cargo were reportedly worth $200 million and it's not yet known how much damage was done to it and its launch facility, according to ABC News.
"It is far too early to know the details of what happened," Orbital's general manager of its Advanced Programs Group, Frank Culbertson, said. "We will conduct a thorough investigation immediately to determine the cause of this failure and what steps can be taken to avoid a repeat of this incident. As soon as we understand the cause we will begin the necessary work to return to flight to support our customers and the nation's space program."
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