Gallery: Antares rocket explodes

The first pair of RD-181 rocket engines set to launch on Orbital ATK’s redesigned Antares rocket are in the final stages of acceptance testing in Russia ahead of their export to the United States in early July, officials said.

Initial inspections of the Antares rocket’s launch pad in Virginia revealed the facility escape major damage after sustaining nearly a direct hit from the booster as it fell to the ground in flames seconds after liftoff.

Powered by two Russian-made RD-181 main engines, a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket fired into a mostly sunny sky Saturday afternoon over Virginia’s Eastern Shore carrying nearly 7,500 pounds of equipment to the International Space Station.