The video grab image from NASA TV shows an spaceship explode over the launch complex at Wallops Island, the United States, Oct. 28, 2014. An unmanned spaceship operated by private U.S. firm Orbital Sciences Corp. blasted off Tuesday for its third cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), NASA TV showed. (Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- An unmanned rocket operated by private U.S. firm Orbital Sciences Corp. exploded Tuesday seconds after its launch, NASA TV showed.

The Antares rocket carrying the company's Cygnus spacecraft blew up six seconds after its liftoff at 6:22 p.m. EDT (2222 GMT) from U.S. space agency NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia.

TV footage showed flames rising into the sky.

There were no casualties and property damage on the ground was limited to the south end of Wallops Flight Facility, Orbital said.

The Virginia-based company has formed an anomaly investigation board, saying it will work in close coordination with all appropriate government agencies to determine the cause of the mishap.

"It is far too early to know the details of what happened," Frank Culbertson, Orbital's executive vice president said in a statement. "We will conduct a thorough investigation immediately to determine the cause of this failure and what steps can be taken to avoid a repeat of this incident."

Cygnus is carrying 5,050 pounds (2,290 kg) of supplies for its third cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. It's also the first nighttime launch of the spacecraft.

One of the new experiments on board is the so-called Drain Brain investigation, a study that will try to determine how blood flows from the brain down to the heart in the absence of gravity.

Also on board is a device called the Meteor Composition Determination (Meteor), which would enable the first space-based observations of meteors entering Earth's atmosphere.

The mission also includes a multitude of student researches.

The rocket was originally set to be launched on Monday, but a boat which sailed into the restricted launch area caused NASA to postpone it until Tuesday.

This mission is the third of eight Orbital flights NASA contracted with the company to resupply the space station, and the fourth trip by Antares and Cygnus to the orbiting laboratory.

Besides Orbital, NASA has also signed a deal with another private company called SpaceX to supply cargo to the space station.

Related:

U.S. Orbital launches third cargo mission to space station

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- An unmanned spaceship operated by private U.S. firm Orbital Sciences Corp. blasted off Tuesday for its third cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), NASA TV showed. Full story

U.S. Orbital launches second cargo mission to space station

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Xinhua) -- An unmanned spacecraft operated by commercial U.S. space company Orbital Sciences Corp. blasted off Sunday for its second cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), NASA TV showed.

The spacecraft was launched atop the company's Antares rocket at 12:52 p.m. EDT (1652 GMT) from the U.S. space agency NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. Full story

U.S. Cygnus spacecraft completes 1st ISS resupply mission: NASA

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- A commercial spacecraft operated by U.S. space company Orbital Sciences Corp. left the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday morning, completing its first official cargo resupply mission to the orbiting lab, U.S. space agency NASA said.

Cygnus, which delivered almost a ton-and-a-half of supplies for scientific experiments in January, was released by astronauts aboard the station using the station's robotic arm at 6:41 a.m. EDT (1141 GMT), NASA said. Full story

Boeing, SpaceX get NASA contracts to launch U.S. astronauts

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. space agency NASA announced Tuesday that it has awarded contracts to Boeing and SpaceX to build commercial spaceships, a move which will send U.S. astronauts to space from American soil, ending U.S. dependence on Russian technology for rides.

"Today we are one step closer to launching our astronauts from U.S. soil on American spacecraft and ending the nation's sole reliance on Russia by 2017," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told a televised press conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Full story