See NASA’s Photos of Last Year’s ‘Catastrophic’ Antares Rocket Launch

On Oct. 28, 2014, an unmanned Orbital Sciences rocket exploded shortly after launching from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The flaming Antares rocket flopped back down to its launch pad, consuming its Cygnus spacecraft, carting 5,000 lb. of NASA cargo to the International Space Station, in an enormous fireball. NASA reported no injuries though described the crash as a “catastrophic anomaly.” Following the one year anniversary of the disaster, NASA has released photographs taken at the time by Joel Kowsky, a photo editor and photographer with the space agency in Washington D.C., of the stunning aftermath.