ISS Resupply Mission Antares Rocket Explodes on Liftoff

A private Orbital Sciences-built cargo launch to the International Space Station ended in a fiery explosion just seconds after liftoff Tuesday night (Oct. 28, 2014).

Orbital's unmanned Antares rocket exploded in a brilliant fireball shortly after launching from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 6:22 p.m. EDT (2222 GMT), crashing back down to the launch pad in a flaming heap.

The Antares was carrying Orbital's unmanned Cygnus spacecraft, which was toting 5,000 pounds (2,268 kilograms) of food, scientific experiments and other supplies to the station on this flight. The launch was slated to begin Orbital Sciences' third cargo mission to the space station under a $1.9 billion contract with NASA.

A NASA spokesman described the explosion as a "catastrophic anomaly" in a NASA TV webcast. While the assessment and investigation of the accident have just begun, launch controllers expressed optimism that it caused no injuries.

It is not yet known what caused the launch failure.