9:40 AM | Antares rocket explodes shortly after launch...two video viewpoints and an infrared imagery loop that shows the sudden warm spot

Discussion

The Antares rocket launch that was pushed off 24 hours by a boat in the safety zone region on Monday ended quickly last night in an explosion at the NASA/Wallops Island, Virginia facility. The unmanned commercial rocket which was headed for the International Space Station (ISS) to deliver 5,000 pounds of supplies and experiments blew up moments after liftoff on the Eastern Shore of Virginia creating a massive fireball. Fortunately, no injuries were reported on the ground. Officials from NASA and Orbital Sciences hope to find out what happened in the coming days by analyzing the data and debris that remains near the launch pad. The crew aboard the ISS is not lacking when it comes to supplies. They have food, water and other consumables necessary to support them well into next year. Here is video of the explosion from the official NASA feed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHMmMgdcOSU and here is a video that was taken from 3000 feet (both courtesy YouTube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciGK9FqUqXw. Finally, the University of Wisconsin has put together an infrared imagery loop that shows a sudden warm spot at the time of the explosion (red circle): http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/141028_goes13_shortwave_ir_Wallops_rocket_explosion_anim.gif .