Wednesday 29 October 2014

Unmanned rocket explodes during NASA launch

A private, unmanned spacecraft under NASA suffered a catastrophic failure when it exploded shortly after takeoff from Virginia on Tuesday evening. No one was injured.
The Antares rocket, which is operated by Orbital Sciences, went up in flames just six seconds after launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. The rocket was carrying a Cygnus spacecraft that was supposed to deliver supplies to the International Space Station on a routine mission. One-third of that cargo was made up of science experiments.
The exact cause of the explosion is still unknown. However, the Orbital Sciences team wasn't tracking any issues prior to launch. The private space company says it will conduct a thorough investigation starting immediately, including of the debris that was scattered around the area during the explosion.
"It is far too early to know the details of what happened,” said Frank Culbertson, Orbital’s executive vice president 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."

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