Gallery: Antares rocket explodes

Riding a self-propelled transporter, an Orbital ATK Antares rocket rolled out to it launch pad Thursday on Virginia’s Eastern Shore for final preparations to send a Cygnus supply ship to the International Space Station.

Officials from NASA, Orbital ATK, Wallops Flight Facility and the Commonwealth of Virginia preview Sunday night’s flight of the Antares rocket during the pre-launch news conference held on the eve of liftoff.

The first pair of new Russian main engines for Orbital ATK’s modernized Antares rocket has arrived at the company’s Virginia launch base as engineers prepare to return the commercial booster to flight after a catastrophic failure last year.