An investigation has begun after a U.S. spacecraft blew up seconds after its launch over an island on the coast of Virginia.
It was due to resupply the International Space Station and was being operated by a NASA contracted firm.
With the story, our US correspondent Kevin McAleese...
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[CLIP MISSION CONTROL "3,2,1..."]]
At first all seemed to be going to plan, but within seconds the unmanned, 200 million-dollar rocket was engulfed by a vast fireball...
[[CLIP MISSION CONTROL "stay at your control..."]]
Frank Culdertson of Orbital Sciences, the company responsible for the spacecraft, confirmed that a destruct command was issued after its Antares rocket began experiencing technical problems moments after launch.
[[CLIP Frank Culbertson]]
Orbital Sciences promises a thorough investigation iinto the rocket failure at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The cargo included five-thousand pounds of supplies ranging form scientific equipment to freeze-dried carb-cakes...
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NASA spokesman Bill Gerstenmaier says the International Space Station won't be affected by the failed rocket launch.
[[CLIP Bill Gerstenmaier]]
Curious locals have been urged to stay away from the crash site and avoid collecting any debris from the explosion, NASA spokesperson Bill Wrobell...
[[CLIP Bill Wrobell]]
NASA has a two-billion-dollar contract with the firm to provide eight resupply flights to the International Space Station.
The incident happened on the same day Russia's space agency successfully launched their own resupply mission to the ISS.
Kevin McAleese, Washington.
