Some details and a live stream by NASA after Antares rocket exploded at Wallops Island, Virginia Tuesday.  Photo: Reuters

Previous

Next

An Orbital Sciences Antares rocket exploded seconds after liftoff from NASA's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia, Tuesday.  The explosion was referred to as “a catastrophic anomaly” on a live stream that Orbital Sciences provided.  It was declared a “mishap" by Orbital Sciences.  The rocket was unmanned and there were no injuries reported. 

For those who want to know more about the explosion, live stream footage of coverage from Orbital Sciences can be watched here.  The rocket launched at 6:22 p.m. EDT and exploded a few moments later.  More than 29,000 people have tuned into the live stream. 

"There has been a vehicle anomaly," Orbital Sciences tweeted. " We will update as soon as we are able." 

The countdown seemed to go as scheduled, until the rocket burst into a fireball.  Firey debris covered the launching area. 

“NASA and Orbital Sciences Corp. are gathering data on the failure of the Orbital CRS-3 six seconds after launch.  Watch NASA Television for updates,” NASA wrote on their website. “ The latest information and a news conference schedule will be posted on this site.” 

The rocket was carrying a Cygnus cargo ship loaded with 5,000 pounds of gear to bring to the six people living on the space station, CBS News reported.  It was the fourth Cygnus bound for the International Space Station; which first took flight over a year ago. 

Surprisingly, there were reportedly no injuries; all personnel were accounted for, but there will be an accident investigation.  Witnesses are not supposed to speak to any reporters until the official investigation is underway. 

A specific time for a press conference has not been revealed. 

Posted below is a video of the alleged explosion, though it has not been verified.  The YouTube user who posted the video, Austin Hunt, only has the one video on his page.