When NASA's Antares rocket launched from its pad on Wallop's Island, Virginia, yesterday, onlookers were stunned when it exploded just six seconds later. The unmanned rocket was supposedly headed for the International Space Station with 5,000 pounds of cargo on board, but instead it ended up being destroyed with the push of a button from a command center once it began to break apart in mid-air. Nearly a million pounds of fuel exploded, leaving investigators and NASA to figure out what went so horribly wrong in the $200 million disaster.
The rocket was supplied by Orbital Sciences and this morning many are rethinking whether or not NASA should consider outsourcing projects and doing business in general with third-party companies. In just a few short seconds, more than $200 million was wasted, and so now not only does it need to investigate the cause of the catastrophic failure, but NASA also needs to reconsider handling these launches itself like it once did.
This morning, Oct. 29, investigators have begun searching for debris near the launch pad and along the beach where Antares exploded. People living in the area were told that if they find anything they believe may be a portion of the rocket, do not touch it. Instead, they should contact authorities so the evidence can be safely collected.
Loss of life in previous launches is one of the reasons that NASA leans toward unmanned missions whenever possible, and luckily there was no loss of life involved in this failed launch.
Ironically, Russia successfully launched a rocket this morning, headed for the International Space Station to bring supplies since the U.S.'s mission failed.
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