WASHINGTON – Unmanned rocket explosion by Orbital Sciences Corp. (IW 500/476) Tuesday in a massive fireball crash and crashed back to Earth just seconds after the launch of what was to be a resume mission to the International Space Station.
“The Antares rocket suffered a crash shortly after it was built,” said NASA mission control in Houston, describing the explosion at Wallops Island, Va., As a “catastrophic anomaly.”
The unmanned cargo ship Cygnus at Orbital was carrying 5,000 pounds of supplies for the six astronauts living at the search site.
After the count, the base of the rocket rose high, white on a cue, then rose a short distance into the air before suddenly exploding in a fire explosion six seconds later.
Covered in flames, the rocket crashed to the ground, as a cloud of dark gray smoke rose from the wreck.
Officials said the cost of the rocket and the supply was over $ 200 million, not to mention the damage done to the ground.
Investigators quickly found the edge of the area and blocked outside interviews of witnesses or staff, citing classified equipment that was on board the spacecraft.
As night fell, fires were seen burning at the coastal launch pad, where waves were crashing at the shore.
Before you launch @OrbitalSciences the team was not monitoring any issues. No injuries were reported and all employees around the launch site were reported.
– NASA Wallops (@NASA_Wallops) 28 October 2014
It was not clear what caused the explosion, which occurred at 6:22 pm (2222 GMT).
“Something went wrong, and we’ll find out what that is,” said Frank Culbertson, executive vice president at Orbital Sciences.
He said investigators would assess the debris and examine the rocket’s telemetry to determine the exact sequence of events.
All workers in the area were reported, and no one was injured, officials said.
However, buildings at the starting point were badly damaged.
This was the first night launch of rocket Antares, according to Orbital’s pre-release blog.
Engineers said the countdown had gone smoothly, and there were no obvious issues with the machinery before they were launched.
“We don’t have a real early indication of what might have failed,” Culbertson said.
Cargo ‘Absolutely Emergency’ is not missing
The mission, known as CRS-3, was to be Orbital’s fourth flight to the ISS, including an original demonstration flight.
Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator at NASA’s Mission Research and Human Operations Directorate, said the space station was well stocked and no “absolutely critical” goods were lost in the explosion.
Orbital has a $ 1.9 billion contract with NASA for a total of eight supply missions.
After the U.S. space shutdown program ended in 2011, without leaving a government program to send people to the space station, private companies raced to restore U.S. reach.
SpaceX’s Dragon was the first commercial spacecraft to make a supply mission there in 2010. Its next mission is scheduled for early December.
The Cygnus craft, which resembles a beer keg, first flew to the ISS in 2013.
Unlike the Dragon, which returns to Earth completely, the Cygnus burns up as it enters Earth’s atmosphere.
President Barack Obama has been notified of the launched failure and will continue to receive updates on the probe, the White House said.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014