NASA Images Show Rocket Explosion on Launch Pad

Incredible new images from NASA show a supply rocket as it exploded on a Virginia launch pad in 2014.

Released on a NASA Flickr account Thursday, the photos show everything from the Antares rocket preparing for launch to the burned remains left on the launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Island flight facility on Oct. 28, 2014.

Owned by Orbital Sciences Corp., the private rocket had more than 5,000 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station.

The botched launch caused up to $20 million in damage to the launch pad’s support systems, according to Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Lane Jr.

The company said said at the time that the failure was likely linked to a turbo pump in one of the rocket’s reconditioned Soviet engines.

More at Patch:

• Rocket Explodes on NASA Launch Pad
• Virginia to Re-Examine Spaceport Deal After Rocket Explosion
• Virginia, NASA Strike Deal for Spaceport Repairs

Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)