Antares explosion: ISS supply rocket explodes seconds after launch

ISS supply rocket Antares has exploded during its launch from NASA base in Virginia.

Antares, a 14-storey rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corp, combusted seconds after leaving the seaside launch pad at Wallops Flight Facility.

The cause of the cargo ship malfunction has yet to be determined.

The initial planned launch of the spacecraft on October 27 was delayed due to a yacht in the surrounding danger zone.

The flight was expected to be the third contracted mission with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Antares was due to carry nearly 5,000 pounds of supplies to six astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

“We will understand what happened, hopefully soon, and we’ll get things back on track,” said Frank Culbertson, executive vice-president of Orbital Sciences.

“We’ve all seen this happen in our business before, and we’ve all seen the teams recover from this, and we will do the same.”

No-one was injured, said Frank Culbertson, and an investigation team was already going through the data to try to establish the cause.