Gallery: Antares rocket explodes

First, you see the rocket sputter, then pause suspended in mid-air and crash back to Earth in a blinding ball of flame. If you still have your wits, you brace for the blast wave.

The debut launch of an upgraded version of Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket has slipped to Friday after ground teams resolved a minor vehicle issue and made emergency preparations for Hurricane Matthew, which bypassed the Antares launch site on Virginia’s Eastern Shore this weekend.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral at 11:05 p.m. EDT (0305 GMT) tonight to send Orbital ATK’s commercial Cygnus cargo freighter to the International Space Station. Follow the mission in our live journal.