Video: Antares rocket explodes

An upgraded Castor 30XL upper stage motor will provide the Antares rocket with an extra boost during launch with supplies and experiments for the International Space Station, a critical upgrade Orbital Sciences says will ensure it meets contractual cargo delivery requirements.

NASA officials say the International Space Station’s logistics chain was designed to absorb a launch failure like the mishap that destroyed an Orbital Sciences Corp. cargo craft in October, but pressure is on SpaceX to deliver supplies on time this year.

A sequence of images from the NASA TV broadcast of the ill-fated launch of the Antares rocket.