FIRE IN THE SKY

NASA Rocket Explodes After Launch

It was unmanned.

An unmanned NASA-contracted rocket holding 5,000 pounds of supplies bound for the International Space Station exploded in a mass of flames in midair shortly after being launched from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Antares rocket blew up six seconds after launch and produced huge flames and loud booms along the eastern Virginia coast. No injuries or deaths were reported, but there’s likely to be infrastructure damage in the area. What was left of the spacecraft and rocket plummeted back to earth, causing even more flames on impact. This was the third of eight resupply flights run by Orbital Sciences going to the ISS. A video of the fiery explosion has been posted here.