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Antares Rocket Explodes On Launch Pad
Orbital Sciences Antares rocket exploded shortly after launch. (Credit: NASA TV)An Orbital Sciences Antares rocket exploded at 6:22 EDT today, six seconds after its launch. The cause of the launch failure is still being determined. It does not appear that anybody was injured by the accident.
The Antares rocket was to carry a Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station, loaded with cargo and supplies for the crew. Orbital Sciences has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to make at least 8 cargo runs to the International Space Station. The company has already made two successful flights, this was to be the third.
Another cargo ship is currently scheduled to liftoff from Kazakhstan on October 29. So far, there’s been no indication that this flight will be delayed. SpaceX is also scheduled to deliver a cargo ship to the station in December. There’s currently no danger to the crew of the ISS from this failure.
More information will be added to this story as it’s released.
Update 7:24pm EDT: The NTSB will be active, but in monitor mode for this investigation. This means that Orbital and NASA will be able to interview their people. Had NTSB decided to take a lead role in investigating, nobody could be interviewed until an NTSB investigator began their work.
Update 7:35pm EDT: The failure of this launch shouldn’t impact Space Station operations. However, a number of science experiments were lost. You can see a complete list of those here. Also notably lost was asteroid mining company Planetary Resources’ first space telescope and a flock of 26 Cubesats from Planet Labs. These were all going to be launched from the Space Station’s cubesat launcher.
The two companies took this in good spirits, though. Planet Labs noted in a blog post that “While this will not have a huge impact on at Planet Labs because our agile aerospace approach, space is hard and our hearts go out to our fellow space innovators.”
Planetary Resources simply tweeted:
Live to fly another day. Onward! #Antares
— Planetary Resources (@PlanetaryRsrcs) October 28, 2014
Update 7:57pm EDT: Orbital Sciences issued the following statement:
“It is far too early to know the details of what happened,” said Mr. Frank Culbertson, Orbital’s Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Advanced Programs Group.”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. We will conduct a thorough investigation immediately to determine the cause of this failure and what steps can be taken to avoid a repeat of this incident. As soon as we understand the cause we will begin the necessary work to return to flight to support our customers and the nation’s space program.”
Update 9:25pm EDT: At a press briefing with NASA and Orbital Sciences, NASA pointed out that none of the cargo on the Cygnus capsule was critical for the space station. The astronauts on board still have plenty of supplies and will be safe.
Also announced was the fact that Orbital will be leading an investigation into the launch failure in conjunction with the FAA. The debris will be examined, as well as video and other data. Residents near the Wallops flight facility have been warned, however, that debris could be hazardous. They’re advised to call in any debris and not touch it.
Update 9:32pm EDT: NASA indicates that fires at the launch facility are contained but not yet extinguished. It’s too early to say how much damage there was to the facility itself.
In terms of the Orbital flight itself, launch failures are anticipated by the contract, and there will be some compensation to ensure it.
Update 9:41pm EDT: Some journalists have speculated that the AJ-26 engine in the first stage of the rocket may be the culprit in the failure, since this engine type suffered a test failure in May. However, Orbital and NASA can’t confirm whether this engine was involved yet.
Update 9:55 EDT: At this point, it will probably be several weeks before it’s clear when Orbital Sciences will be able to fly another Cygnus to the International Space Station. The full cost of the spacecraft and rocket was over $200 million, at least some of which was insured. The total cost of the damages on the ground is still unknown. That concludes the press conference.
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