Photos: NASA releases new photos of Antares rocket explosion
What goes up...
NASA released dramatic new photos of the moments before, during and after an unmanned Antares rocket exploded over its Wallops Island, Va., launch site last year.
Came down in spectacular fashion
The commercial supply rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS) was blown up moments after liftoff after a fuel pump failure doomed the mission, according to a report released by NASA on Oct. 30, nearly a full year after the Oct. 28, 2014, accident.
The rocket was headed to the ISS
The rocket, operated by Orbital Sciences — now Orbital ATK following a merger — was hired by NASA along with the SpaceX company to deliver supplies to the ISS. SpaceX also suffered a rocket failure in June.
It was unmanned
The Antares rocket, seen here engulfed in flames, was carrying a Cygnus spacecraft filled with supplies, including a science experiment from Kamloops, B.C., experiment hardware, spare parts and crew provisions.
Six seconds into the launch...
Things took a turn for the worst, prompting an officer on the ground to initiate the rocket's self-destruction.
The rocket fell harmlessly back to Earth
A pair of blasts — part of the built-in safety measures intended to prevent the rocket from veering off course — caused the rocket to fall harmlessly back onto its launch pad.
The calm after the (fire) storm
NASA is paying billions of dollars to Orbital ATK (formerly Orbital Sciences) and SpaceX to make space station deliveries, and it's counting on SpaceX and Boeing to start flying U.S. astronauts to the orbiting lab as early as 2017. After the Antares accident, NASA said there was nothing on the lost flight that was urgently needed by the six people living on the space station.
