Post by Nictoshek on Oct 28, 2014 17:47:46 GMT -7
Breaking Orbital Sciences' Antares rocket explodes seconds after liftoff
By JAMES QUEALLY, W.J. HENNIGAN, LAUREN RAAB
An unmanned, 13-story rocket bound for the International Space Station exploded just after liftoff Tuesday off the coast of Virginia.
Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket was carrying a Cygnus capsule with about 5,000 pounds of supplies and experiments. It departed from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia.
The explosion took place six seconds after the rocket's launch at 6:22 p.m. Eastern time, according to NASA. No one was injured, although there was "significant property damage and significant vehicle damage," NASA officials said in a live video feed.
NASA says it is launching an accident investigation team.
Mission Control in Houston said the explosion followed a “flawless countdown,” according to NASA's live video feed.
“The team was not tracking any issues,” a NASA official said during the feed.
In a statement released Tuesday night, Orbital said the property damage was limited to the south end of the Wallops Island facility.
“It is far too early to know the details of what happened,” Frank Culbertson, Orbital’s executive vice president, said in a statement. “As we begin to gather information, our primary concern lies with the ongoing safety and security of those involved in our response and recovery operations."
The two-stage rocket, powered by engines from Aerojet-General Corp. in Sacramento, was to undertake its third resupply mission to the International Space Station, according to NASA. This was its first night launch.
“A mishap occurred shortly after liftoff,” NASA said in a statement. “Orbital has declared a contingency. NASA and Orbital are still determining when a press conference will be held. The latest information and a news conference schedule will be posted on this site.”
The rocket was supposed to launch Monday, but NASA scrubbed that because of a boat in the launch area.
Now that the space shuttle fleet has been retired, NASA is eager to give private industry the job of carrying cargo and crews, in hope of cutting costs. Meanwhile, the space agency will focus on deep-space missions to send probes to asteroids and Mars.
NASA has a $1.9-billion contract with Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Sciences for eight flights to transport cargo from the newly built Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.
One commercial company, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., has successfully resupplied the space station in four missions. The Hawthorne firm, better known as SpaceX, most recently pulled off the feat last month.
The rocket industry is notoriously difficult to enter and littered with failed projects. Even the best rocket systems often require several attempts before they achieve success.
Although Orbital has acknowledged the hazards of launching a new rocket, the company remained confident about its Antares rocket.
But in 2009 and 2011, Orbital ran into failures with its Taurus XL rocket. On both occasions, the rocket's protective fairing did not separate properly from the rocket and didn't allow the satellites it was carrying to reach orbit.
The failures shook the company and led it to name its newest rocket Antares -- instead of Taurus II -- to prevent the public from thinking they were the same.
Part of Orbital's selling point is the company's claim it can develop and launch rockets at a fraction of the cost of the current generation of spacecraft.
The Virginia company also has employees in El Segundo and Huntington Beach and at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Orbital was founded in 1982 and manufactures more than half a dozen small- and medium-class rockets, as well as satellites.