Unmanned Orbital Sciences Antares rocket explodes on liftoff
The Orbital Sciences Antares rocket attempted to take off this evening (yesterday’s attempt was scrubbed due to a boat that wandered into a restricted area), but it exploded just six seconds after launching. In a tweet Orbital Sciences confirmed a “vehicle anomaly”, and NASA says the company is evaluating the mission. There was no crew on board as it was intended to be Orbital’s third unmanned resupply mission for the ISS, carrying some 5,000 lbs of food, supplies and science experiments, like the Radiometer Atmospheric CubeSat Experiment (RACE). Orbital Sciences is the second private company — after SpaceX — that runs missions to the ISS, and its Cygnus spacecraft made the first successful delivery about a year ago. NASA’s live stream from the launch pad is embedded after the break, as well as a video replay of the failed launch.
Developing…
The team on the ground has confirmed there are no injuries, although because of “classified crypto equipment” onboard, it is in the process of securing the surrounding area. It’s not clear what caused the explosive failure, but some have already pointed out that Orbital is using AeroJet Rocketdyne AJ-26 engines for its first stage. According to Spaceflight Insider, those rockets were built over 40 years ago in Russia before being imported, refurbished and upgraded for use with Antares. One failed on the test stand earlier this year and another did the same in 2011, apparently due to “stress corrosion cracking.”
There has been a vehicle anomaly. We will update as soon as we are able.
– Orbital Sciences (@OrbitalSciences) October 28, 2014
NASA & @OrbitalSciences are gathering data on the failure of the CRS-3 mission 6 seconds after launch. Updates: http://t.co/6Bo6KBRWnG
– NASA (@NASA) October 28, 2014
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