Watch: NASA’s Antares rocket explodes after liftoff.
Happened moments ago. More to come… Live embed below.
UPDATE:
A rocket carrying a private unmanned spacecraft to the International Space Station exploded shortly after launch on Tuesday. The Antares rocket, carrying Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus spacecraft, exploded a few seconds after liftoff Tuesday evening from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.
NASA’s launch director confirmed that all personnel are accounted for and there were no injuries. The cause of the accident was not immediately available. It came after a “flawless countdown” during which “the team was not tracking any issues,” NASA said on the launch livestream.
The launch was scheduled to take place at 6:22 Eastern time, but “suffered a catastrophic anomaly” a short distance above the platform, then fell and exploded on contact with the ground.