Rocket Explodes Over Texas - A rocket carrying a Cygnus spacecraft containing 5,000 pounds of cargo has apparently exploded just a few seconds after the entire vessel litoff.
The Orbital Sciences Corp Antares rocket that exploded over Virginia, Texas on Tuesday was supposed to help deliver the cargo to the International Space Station, reports Discovery News.
The rocket explosion took place at the Wallops Island Flight Facility and although no injuries were reported out of the incident, the extent of damage it has done to the seaside launch complex is still unknown.
"We don't really have any early indications of exactly what might have failed," Frank Culbertson, the executive vice president of Orbital Sciences said following the rocket explosion over Texas.
"What we know so far is pretty much what everybody saw on the video: The ascent stopped, there was some disassembly of the first stage ... and then it fell to Earth. We don't have access to all the data yet," Culbertson added.
Students from across the nation were reportedly saddened over the rocket explosion since the spacecraft was carrying their science projects, as well as food and supplies for the astronauts at the space station.
"[We're feeling] shock and horror -- a little more horror just because of the explosion on live camera," seventh grader Tony Holmes of Hobby Middle School in San Antonio, Texas said. "It's a bummer for us because we're going to have to take a lot more time to fix everything. But no one got hurt, so that's great."
Holmes said he and three other students were sending a crystal-glowing project to the astronauts just so they can find out whether the crystals would glow faster in space, according to ABC News.
"I was just beginning my, 'Make it, make it, make it' chant that I always do since the Challenger, and it didn't even get as high as the Challenger and it blew," Science teacher Serena Connally said.
As per updated reports on the rocket that exploded over Texas, the 139-foot tall rocket blasted off from the launch pad at 6:22 p.m. EDT.
Range safety officers said flaming debris rained down on the southern end of Wallops Islands following the explosion.
"It's too early to comment on how bad the damage is to the pad. We know there was some. We don't know the extent yet," NASA's Wallops Flight Facility Director Bill Wrobel said.
An investigation on the incident is currently on-going - the first since the U.S. space agency turned to commercial companies to resupply the station.
"We will understand what happened hopefully soon and we'll get things back on track," Culbertson said. "We've all seen this happen in our business before and we've all seen the teams recover from this. We will do the same."
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