--- title: Antares Rocket Explosion Initiated By Self-Destruct Order description: The Antares rocket exploded and scattered debris over a wide area canonical: https://time.com/3550794/antares-nasa-iss-rocket-explosion/ author: Denver Nicks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-31T12:38:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T11:08:53.241Z article:section: Science og:title: Antares Rocket Explosion Initiated By Self-Destruct Order og:description: The Antares rocket exploded and scattered debris over a wide area og:url: https://time.com/3550794/antares-nasa-iss-rocket-explosion/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8cf875a781b3490/698763b05f570f5e56b1304f/antares-rocket1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Orbital Sciences Antares Launch og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Antares Rocket Explosion Initiated By Self-Destruct Order twitter:description: The Antares rocket exploded and scattered debris over a wide area twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8cf875a781b3490/698763b05f570f5e56b1304f/antares-rocket1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Operator in Rocket Blast Hit Self-Destruct When Problem Became Clear  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Oct 31, 2014 12:38 PM UTC  This image provided by NASA shows the Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard suffers a catastrophic anomaly moments after launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A, Oct. 28, 2014, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. This image provided by NASA shows the Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard suffers a catastrophic anomaly moments after launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A, Oct. 28, 2014, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.Joel Kowsky—AP  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Oct 31, 2014 12:38 PM UTC The unmanned rocket that [exploded](http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/30/us/antares-rocket-explosion/index.html?hpt=hp%5Ft2) seconds after liftoff Tuesday on its way to the International Space Station did so because [the operator hit self-destruct](http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/30/us/antares-rocket-explosion/index.html?hpt=hp%5Ft2) once problems with the launch became apparent, the company that owns it said. The Antares rocket, operated by Orbital Sciences Corp., [crashed](http://time.com/3545524/cause-sought-for-space-supply-rocket-explosion/) in a large fire Tuesday night, scattering debris over a wide area. It was carrying more than 5,000 pounds of scientific instruments, food and other supplies for the astronauts aboard the space station when down with the rocket. NASA says the space station is equipped with plenty of food to last while additional resupply missions are organized. Orbital spokesperson Barron Beneski told CNN the crash was initiated by the flight termination system. Such an order is typically given after it’s clear the rocket will not meet its intended trajectory in order to ensure that it goes down over a relatively small and unpopulated area. No injuries were reported in the crash. The problem occurred in the first stage of launch, Orbital said late Thursday, in a possible sign that its vintage, Russian-designed engines could have been the cause. \[[_CNN_](http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/30/us/antares-rocket-explosion/index.html?hpt=hp%5Ft2)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3550794/antares-nasa-iss-rocket-explosion/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3550794/antares-nasa-iss-rocket-explosion/"},"headline":"Operator in Rocket Blast Hit Self-Destruct When Problem Became Clear","datePublished":"2014-10-31T12:38:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:08:53.241Z","description":"The Antares rocket exploded and scattered debris over a wide area","url":"https://time.com/3550794/antares-nasa-iss-rocket-explosion/","keywords":["Space","NASA","iss","rocket","space station"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8cf875a781b3490/698763b05f570f5e56b1304f/antares-rocket1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8cf875a781b3490/698763b05f570f5e56b1304f/antares-rocket1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Orbital Sciences Antares Launch","caption":"This image provided by NASA shows the Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard suffers a catastrophic anomaly moments after launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A, Oct. 28, 2014, at NASA's Wallops Fl","creditText":"Joel Kowsky—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3550794/antares-nasa-iss-rocket-explosion/","name":"Operator in Rocket Blast Hit Self-Destruct When Problem Became Clear"}}]}] ```