NASA's Wallops Incident Response Team initial probe of the Antares rocket explosion shows damage to the transporter erector launcher and lightning suppression rods.
Private contractor Orbital Science Corp's Antares rocket exploded shortly after lift-off on October 28 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
Wallops Director Bill Wrobel said, "In the coming days and weeks ahead, we will continue to assess the damage on the island and begin the process of moving forward to restore our space launch capabilities." The Wallops team met with a group of state and local officials, including the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the Virginia Marine Police, and the US Coast Guard.
The Wallops environmental team also is conducting assessments at the site, NASA said.