An unmanned Nasa rocket carrying supplies to the International Space Station exploded seconds after lift-off from a commercial launch pad in Virginia. The company behind a resupply mission to the International Space Station that ended in a spectacular explosion over a Virginia launchpad has defended the use of ageing Soviet rockets amid growing questions over Nasa’s reliance on private contractors to fill gaps in the US space program. NASA suffered a catastrophic failure when it exploded shortly after takeoff from Virginia on Tuesday evening. No one was injured. The rocket was carrying a Cygnus spacecraft that was supposed to deliver supplies to the International Space Station on a routine mission. One-third of that cargo was made up of science experiments.
