Antares Explosion Video From The Air

0

A passenger in a GA airplane caught Tuesday’s Antares rocket explosion on video, giving a view of it from the air over the commercial launch facility in Virginia. The unmanned supply rocket exploded Tuesday seconds after liftoff. The video, which lasts under two minutes, is shot from the right side with the launch site some distance away. But the resulting fireball made it seem close.

The remarks in the cockpit escalate from “There it goes” upon the rocket’s ignition to “Oh, wow” to “Holy crap!” as a bright fireball erupts near the ground. The 14-story rocket blasted off at 6:22 p.m. Eastern Time and exploded a few seconds later. No one was hurt. The rocket was carrying a cargo ship loaded with about 5,000 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station. It’s unclear whether the explosion was an accident or a deliberate action to address a malfunction. This was Orbital Sciences’ third launch under an eight-launch contract with NASA worth $1.9 billion.

LEAVE A REPLY