WALLOPS ISLAND, VA — A rocket bringing supplies to the International Space Station exploded during takeoff. The unmanned rocket blew up six seconds after it launched Tuesday night. It happened at NASA’s Space Launch Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia.
Former astronaut Mark Kelly says there are safety measures in place, but it’s too early to tell if they were used in this case. “There’s a range safety system in place where they can command the rocket to destruct in a more controlled way, rather than let it fly off in a direction they don’t want it to go,” he said.
The rocket from Orbital Sciences was loaded with five thousand pounds of gear and experiments. Tuesday’s explosion is already raising questions about NASA’s use of commercial rockets to carry supplies into space.
