Houston We Have A Problem!

Rocket technology has come a long way since its early days in the 1950s and 60s when failures were more common than not. We now have an expanding number of countries and companies able to send payloads into space, and with ever better safety records. This being said, accidents still happen, and when they do, they create some truly spectacular footage for us to watch…

Yesterday, Orbital Sciences in collaboration with NASA was due to launch their latest Antares rocket to the International Space Station. Worth 200 million dollars, this rocket was carrying a large amount of supplies to these astronauts, including vital supplies, food and experiments. Given this, there was a large amount of pressure on the company to deliver a successful and timely launch.

But alas, it was not to be. Just 6 seconds into the launch, something went terribly wrong with the 16 story high rocket. One of the rocket’s engines appeared to explode and the rocket began falling back to earth. When it hit the ground, the huge fuel tanks ignited, causing a much larger explosion, destroying the rocket, and everything around it in a spectacular fashion. Luckily, the craft was unmanned, and nobody was hurt on the ground.

Watch the amazing footage of this (very expensive) mistake in the video below: