WASHINGTON: An unmanned rocket owned by Orbital Sciences Corporation on Tuesday exploded six seconds after launch in what was to be a resupply mission to the International Space Station, NASA said. 

"Antares rocket suffered an accident shortly after takeoff," mission control at NASA in Houston, said, describing the incident as a "catastrophic failure." 

The rocket exploded in the air before exploding in a massive orange ball of fire, alive against the night sky, and break back into the ground. 

Fires were seen burning in coastal launch pad after the Antares rocket took off at sunset Wallops Island, Virginia at 6:22 pm (2222 GMT). 

It was unclear what caused the explosion. "At the moment it seems that the damage is limited to the installation," said a commentator on NASA TV. 

All personnel in the area were taken into account, and there were no injuries, the US space agency said. 

There were, however, significant property damage. Mission control at NASA said the accident occurred just after cargo ship unmanned Cygnus Orbital took off for the ISS carrying 5.000 pounds (2,200 kilograms) of supplies for the six astronauts living on the research station. 

It was the first night launch of a rocket Antares, Orbital said. The mission, known as CRS-3, would be the fourth trip to the ISS Orbital, including an initial demonstration. 

Orbital has a $ 1.9 billion to NASA for a total of eight missions of supply. 

The Cygnus spacecraft, which has the form of a massive barrel of beer, was to have remained docked at the ISS for about five weeks. 

After the space shuttle program in the United States ended in 2011, leaving no government program to send humans to the space station, private companies rushed to restore US access. 

SpaceX Dragon was the first commercial spacecraft to supply a trip there in 2010.