--- description: Investigators believe they know what caused the massive failure and explosion of the Antares rocket just seconds after it lifted off a Virginia launch pad. title: Orbital Sciences CEO says Antares’ Soviet-era rocket engine failed image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8681ef7d41cf9cf/6987667acd68487f33097bd8/458031618.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Space](/tag/space/) ## Space Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Orbital Sciences CEO Gives Reason for Antares Rocket Explosion by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 6, 2014 10:34 PM CUT  WALLOPS ISLAND, VA - OCTOBER 28: In this handout provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 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 at NASA Wallops Flight Facility on October 28, 2014 on Wallops Island, Virginia. William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate and Michael Suffredini, NASA's International Space Station Program Manager also participated in the press conference via phone. Cygnus was on its way to rendezvous with the space station. The Antares rocket lifted off to start its third resupply mission to the International Space Station, but suffered a catastrophic anomaly shortly after lift off at 6:22 p.m. EDT. (Photo by Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images) WALLOPS ISLAND, VA - OCTOBER 28: In this handout provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 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 at NASA Wallops Flight Facility on October 28, 2014 on Wallops Island, Virginia. William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate and Michael Suffredini, NASA's International Space Station Program Manager also participated in the press conference via phone. Cygnus was on its way to rendezvous with the space station. The Antares rocket lifted off to start its third resupply mission to the International Space Station, but suffered a catastrophic anomaly shortly after lift off at 6:22 p.m. EDT. (Photo by Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images)NASA/Getty Images by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 6, 2014 10:34 PM CUT Investigators believe they know what made the Antares rocket explode just seconds after it lifted off from a Virginia launch pad. Orbital Sciences’ president and CEO David Thompson said one of two main engines used to launch the rocket failed. Thompson also said Orbital Sciences plans on continuing with its nearly $2 billion contract with NASA to deliver supplies to the International Space Station. The failed AJ26 engine will no longer be used to launch the rocket. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3567208/orbital-sciences-antares-rocket-explosion/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3567208/orbital-sciences-antares-rocket-explosion/"},"headline":"Orbital Sciences CEO Gives Reason for Antares Rocket Explosion","datePublished":"2014-11-06T22:34:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:17:24.236Z","description":"A failure may have occurred in the rocket's engine","url":"https://time.com/3567208/orbital-sciences-antares-rocket-explosion/","keywords":["Space","NASA","Science topic","rockets"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8681ef7d41cf9cf/6987667acd68487f33097bd8/458031618.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8681ef7d41cf9cf/6987667acd68487f33097bd8/458031618.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Unmanned Antares Rocket Explodes At Launch On Wallops Island","caption":"Unmanned Antares Rocket Explodes At Launch On Wallops Island","creditText":"NASA/Getty Images","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/3567208/orbital-sciences-antares-rocket-explosion/","name":"Orbital Sciences CEO Gives Reason for Antares Rocket Explosion"}}]}] ```