WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. - Shortly after lift-off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A at 6:22 p.m. EDT on October 28, the Antares launch vehicle suffered a catastrophic failure. An explosion occurred a few seconds after liftoff, destroying the launch vehicle and its payload. According to NASA's emergency operations officials, there were no casualties. Reports indicate property damage was extensive, but limited to the south end of Wallops Island.
The Antares was carrying a Cygnus cargo transfer vehicle full of supplies for crew onboard the International Space Station. This was the third operational flight of the Cygnus, which is one of two commercial resupply vehicles operated by U.S. companies. The Antares also was carrying 29 small satellites, including 26 Doves for Planet Labs, Arkyd-3, RACE, and GOMX 2.
According to a statement released by Orbital Sciences, the company's immediate concern is about safety and security for personnel operating in the area. Once safety has been assured, the company 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. Flights will begin as soon as Orbital Sciences and NASA determine the cause of the launch failure.
Until the Antares becomes operational again, the launch failure could shake up the space station resupply market. Currently, crews on the ISS rely on the Cygnus, Russian Progress, Japanese HTV, and SpaceX Dragon to bring supplies to the station. Without the Cygnus, the remaining three resupply vehicles will have to take up the slack.
This will likely not be much of an issue, as demonstrated by the launch of a Soyuz carrying a Progress cargo vehicle only a few hours after the failed Antares launch. Early on Wednesday morning, the modified Soyuz 2.1a lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying Progress M-25M.
Still pressure on the Progress, HTV, and Dragon will be higher for a few months. A launch failure of one of those launch vehicles would mean the schedules of two resupply vehicles will be disrupted at the same time. Engineers and mission controllers will need to ensure that there are no troubles with any of the three spacecraft or their launch vehicles.
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