NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The explosion of anaOrbital Sciences' rocket Tuesdayanight in Virginia is bound to put renewed public scrutiny on NASA's use of commercial spacecraft, particularly its plans with SpaceX to use that company's rockets to transport astronauts. No one was injured in the Virginia shore explosion of the Antares rocket just after its liftoff at 6:22 p.m. EDT on Tuesday. The rocket was carrying supplies to astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Orbital Sciences, based in Dulles, Va., will lead an investigation into the explosion in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration andaNASA. Must Read:a8 Stocks George Soros Is Buying in 2014 NASAaissued a press statementaimmediately Tuesdayanight, which quoted NASA's associate administrator of human exploration and operations, William Gerstenmaier. While NASA is disappointed that Orbital Sciences' third contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station was not successful today, we will continue to move forward toward the next attempt once we fully understand today's mishap. The crew of the International Space Station is in no danger of running out of food or other critical supplies. . . . Today's Launch attempt will not deter us from our work to expand our already successful capability to launch cargo from American shores to the International Space Station. The explosion exposes the risk of space travel and reignites old concerns about NASA's use of commercial companies for rockets and launches, where the pressures of marketplace competition could result in reduced quality and national tragedies. The U.S. space program has seen its share of such tragedies, notably the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986 shortly after liftoff and the disintegration of the Columbia Space Shuttle during re-entry to Earth's atmosphere in 2003.a Elon Musk-led company SpaceX, in particular, is at risk from such concerns, with nearly its entire operations geared to cater to the needs of the government-run NASA. SpaceX is privately held, but closely associated with Musk's other interests, electric car and battery makeraTesla aand solar energy company SolarCity . Must Read:aLockheed Martin Powers Military Goals With Limitless Energy Project SpaceX has made four successful missions to the International Space Station with three of those carrying supplies. It has plans to ferry astronauts, announcing a $2.6 billion contract with the space agency in September, separate from its cargo flights. Those manned flights are set to begin in 2017, according to NASA. Two years ago, in an interview with Wired magazine, Musk criticized Orbital Sciences for using equipment from the 1960s, saying the plan "sounds like the punch line to a joke." I don't mean their design is from the '60s -- I mean they start with engines that were literally made in the '60s and, like, packed away in Siberia somewhere. Monday evening, Musk refrained from criticism, tweeting a simple responseato his competitor and fellow space travel explorers. Sorry to hear about the @OrbitalSciences launch. Hope they recover soon. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2014 John Logdson, former space policy director at George Washington University, told The Associated Press that the explosion was unlikely to be a major setback to NASA's commercial space plans. But he noted it could derail Orbital Sciences for a while given the company has just one launch pad and the accident occurred right above it. Shares ofaOrbital Sciences were falling 14.2% early Wednesday to $26.05. The stock closed Tuesday at $30.37, pennies away from its 52-week high of $30.41. Year-to-date, the stock was up 30.34% at the close of trading Tuesday, outpacing the S&P 500's 7.4% gain. Revenue for the company was expected to be flat for the current year at $1.4 billion, with profits rising 7.8%, according to S&P Capital IQ. For 2015, revenue is expected to climb 12% to $1.5 billion and profit gaining 9.7%. Since the retirement of the last of the Space Shuttle fleet in 2011, the U.S. space agency must rely on the services of Russia's space program to get its personnel to and from the International Space Station. With funding in jeopardy, NASA decided that rather than replace the Space Shuttle it would focus on space experiments and robotic missions, and enlist commercial companies like Orbital and SpaceX for transportation to orbit. Must Read:aWill Vivint Solar's Debut Prove Elon Musk's Case for Residential Solar? -- Written by Carlton Wilkinson in New York Follow @CarltonTSC // 0;if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); // ]]> a
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