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Spectators Look On in Shock as Antares Rocket Explodes

Spectators watched in shock as a rocket blew up moments after lifting off from NASA's launch complex at Wallops Island, Virginia.
Image: People who came to watch the launch walk away after an unmanned rocket owned by Orbital Sciences Corporation exploded
Spectators react after an unmanned rocket owned by Orbital Sciences Corporation exploded just seconds after lift-off from Wallops Island, Virginia, on October 28, 2014.STEVE ALEXANDER / AFP - Getty Images

Spectators looked on in shock Tuesday night as a rocket blew up moments after lifting off from NASA's launch complex at Wallops Island, Virginia.

Michelle Murphy, an innkeeper in New Church, where launches are visible across a bay about 16 miles away, saw the explosion. "It was scary. Everything rattled," she said. "There were two explosions. The first one we were ready for. The second one we weren't. It shook the inn, like an earthquake. It was extremely intense."

The owners of the Antares rocket warned residents not to touch any debris they might stumble across from the craft, which was carrying hazardous materials.

Image: Spectators in Chincoteague, Va. watch the fireball from the explosion
Spectators in Chincoteague, Va. watch a fireball from the explosion of the Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo capsule seconds after liftoff on Tuesday.Rich-Joseph Facun / The Virginian-Pilot via AP

— The Associated Press