The third Orbital Sciences cargo mission to the International Space Station was set to launch Monday, but was prevented by a stray boat which had entered restricted waters southeast of the launch pad in Wallops Island, Virginia. The launch was postponed until Tuesday due to public safety concerns, according to officials.
The Monday launch window was just 10 minutes long, restricted by the orbit of the space station.
The sailboat carried a single passenger without a radio, reportedly.
The Antares exploded seconds after launch Tuesday.
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The Antares carried over 5,000 pounds of supplies for the space station, including 32 mini research satellites, a meteor tracker, crew provisions, and a tank of high-pressure nitrogen to replace that used by astronauts during spacewalks. It also carried, according to the launch director, some high-priority “classified crypto equipment” thought to be for secure communications.
The Antares suffered “a catastrophic anomaly” a short distance above the launch platform, lost power, fell back to the earth and exploded on contact with the ground.
“Parts were sent flying everywhere, and then the vehicle fell back to the pad, exploding in an even larger fireball, setting the entire area on fire,” commented eye-witness Robert Pearlman, editor of the space history news website collectSPACE.com.
The cause of the explosion is not known, according to NASA officials.
By Daniel Jackson
Slideshow (NASA images):
![US Rocket Explodes on Launch [VIDEO]](https://thespeakernewsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Antares-Rocket-Which-Exploded-Tuesday-Was-Set-to-Fly-Monday-But-Was-Delayed-by-Stray-Boater-6-150x150.jpg)
![US Rocket Explodes on Launch [VIDEO]](https://thespeakernewsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Antares-Rocket-Which-Exploded-Tuesday-Was-Set-to-Fly-Monday-But-Was-Delayed-by-Stray-Boater-11-150x150.jpg)