The NASA website was transmitting a live broadcast of the rocket launch. The explosion occurred immediately after the liftoff at 18:23 pm, local time (01:23 am, Moscow time, October 29).
There were no immediate reports about casualties or damage to the spaceport facilities. NASA said a special commission comprising representatives of NASA and Orbital Sciences will be formed to investigate the catastrophe.
Cygnus was to loiter in orbit until Nov. 2, then fly itself to the station so astronauts can use a robotic crane to snare the capsule and attach it to a berthing port. The ISS, a $100 billion research laboratory owned and operated by 15 nations, flies about 260 miles (418 km) above Earth.
In addition to food, supplies and equipment, the Cygnus spacecraft was loaded with more than 1,600 pounds (725 kg) of science experiments, including an investigation to chemically analyze meteors as they burn up in Earth's atmosphere.
[itar-tass.com]
29/10/14
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Antares rocket explosion to hamper scientific research — NASA ...
ReplyDeleteThe crash of the Antares carrier rocket with the US cargo spacecraft Cygnus is not expected to negatively affect the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) in the short term, but will somehow hinder the scientific research, NASA spokesperson Jay Bolden told TASS.
During the first couple of weeks, the crew of the ISS, a $100 billion research laboratory owned and operated by 15 nations, will not have any difficulties. However, the crash will certainly affect the research that the crew planned to carry out using the equipment that was part of the cargo, he said...........................http://en.itar-tass.com/non-political/757046
29/10/14
ISS Crew Has Enough Supplies Until March 2015: NASA ...
ReplyDeleteIn case no spacecraft makes it to the ISS (International Space Station) in the near future, the supplies will be enough until March 2015, Mike Suffredini, NASA's International Space Station Program Manager, said at the press briefing, dedicated to the Antares rocket explosion at the launchpad, which occurred in Virginia Tuesday.
"We keep the logistics on board the ISS to protect us from 4 to 6 month in case a logistic vehicle cannot make it to the ISS. So the logistics when there is no other spacecraft showed up, take us well into the next year," Suffredini said Tuesday night.
NASA representative added that there are plenty of supplies on board of the space station.
"The crew has all the food, water and other consumers necessary well into next year. I think if no other vehicle shows up we can go all way to about the March time frame," he stated.................http://en.ria.ru/society/20141029/194764629/ISS-Crew-Has-Enough-Supplies-Until-March-2015-NASA.html
29/10/14
Russia successfully launched an unmanned rocket with supplies for the International Space Station from Kazakhstan on Wednesday, hours after a catastrophic explosion destroyed a similar mission in the United States....
ReplyDeleteA Soyuz rocket and Progress 57 cargo ship blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The cargo ship is expected to dock with the ISS later in the day.
On Tuesday, an unmanned commercial rocket with supplies and equipment for the space station burst into fiery fragments just seconds after liftoff from Wallops Island, in the U.S. state of Virginia off the Atlantic coast.................http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-launches-iss-cargo-mission-after-us-rocket-explodes/2500270.html
29/10/14
Antares carrier rocket’s explosion to force adjustments in ISS program...
ReplyDeleteExplosion of the US-Ukrainian Antares carrier rocket that occurred on Tuesday at a NASA space center in Virginia will necessitate changes in the program of experiments at the US segment of the International Space Station, Vladimir Solovyov, the supervisor of the flight program at the Russian section of the ISS told reporters on Wednesday.
“The Americans will now have to adjust their program of experiments,” he said.
As for the program of Russia’s Progress cargo ships launches, it will not be affected, Solovyov said............http://en.itar-tass.com/non-political/757200
29/10/14