An unmanned rocket that was to carry a science experiment designed by Ocean City High School students to the International Space Station exploded in a fireball seconds after liftoff on Tuesday evening.
See video and read more about the explosion on NPR: Unmanned Antares Rocket Explodes Shortly After Takeoff.
Read more about the OCHS experiment and the science education program that allowed them to participate: OCHS Experiment Rocketing Into Space.
The students who created the experiment — Lauren Bowersock, Mercy Griffith, Kristine Redmond, Daniel Loggi, Kaitland Wriggins and Alison Miles — were at the NASA facility in Wallops Island, Va., to witness the accident.
They were in a safe viewing area during liftoff and were asked to leave the facility after the accident, according to Schools Superintendent Kathleen Taylor, who is with the students returning to Ocean City on a bus early on Tuesday evening.
“We’re shocked,” Taylor said.
It is not known yet if their experiment will get another chance to rocket into space.
The private company responsible for the rocket launch released the following statement on Tuesday night:
Orbital Sciences Corporation confirms that today’s Antares rocket launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility was not successful. Shortly after lift-off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A at 6:22 p.m. (EDT), the vehicle suffered a catastrophic failure. According to NASA’s emergency operations officials, there were no casualties and property damage was limited to the south end of Wallops Island. Orbital has formed an anomaly investigation board, which will work in close coordination with all appropriate government agencies, to determine the cause of today’s mishap.
“It is far too early to know the details of what happened,” said Mr. Frank Culbertson, Orbital’s Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Advanced Programs Group.“As we begin to gather information, our primary concern lies with the ongoing safety and security of those involved in our response and recovery operations. We will conduct a thorough investigation immediately to determine the cause of this failure and what steps can be taken to avoid a repeat of this incident. As soon as we understand the cause we will begin the necessary work to return to flight to support our customers and the nation’s space program.”
Orbital will provide more information as it becomes available and is verified.
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