On October 28, 2014, the NASA resupply rocket deemed "Antares" exploded about 10 seconds into the launch. The rocket had a planned destination of the ISS (International Space Station) for a resupply. Antares was full of supplies and new materials for experiments, and other necessities for the ISS. Luckily, nobody was killed or even hurt on this deadly launch since it was an unmanned flight.
About 2 miles away at the press site, where all of the news and cinematographers sit and watch, there was panic and confusion as the rocket unexpectedly dropped from the sky and caused a major shock wave. About 10 seconds after the rocket hit the ground, a very distinct loud explosion was heard at all of the press sites. Seconds later, NASA launch teams sent out recovery crews and firefighters to put out the blazes caused by the blast. The rocket failure was caused by one of it's 2 engines suddenly losing thrust. Shortly after, to prevent further destruction, the Antares operator opted to self destruct the rocket.
People Leaving the Launch Site After the Accident
The Cygnus rockets (Antares) have only had 5 totals launches since their introduction in 2013. This was their first failure and until they find out what caused the problem, it is expected that their competitor, Space X is going to take over the resupply missions. The Antares rockets have had good success until now and Orbital Sciences hopes to fix their hurt reputation by improving Antares and finding out what caused the disaster.
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