Reporters run for cover as Antares rocket explodes

A commercial supply ship owned and operated by Orbital ATK departed the International Space Station on Friday, heading for a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean with more than 1.5 tons of trash. The station’s robotic arm released Cygnus at 1226 GMT (7:26 a.m. EST).

In the week since it departed the International Space Station to wrap up a successful cargo delivery mission, Orbital ATK’s Cygnus supply ship hosted a combustion research experiment, deployed four small satellites for a San Francisco-based startup, then descended into Earth’s atmosphere Sunday for a destructive re-entry.

This is the post-launch news briefing from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility held after the successful return to flight by the Orbital ATK Antares rocket that delivered the Cygnus cargo ship into space.