An unmanned rocket whose launch was delayed by Hurricane Gonzalo and potential repairs to its Bermuda down-range tracking station exploded over Virginia last night during a rescheduled take-off.

Antares, a 14-storey rocket which was intended to bring 5,000lbs of vital supplies to the International Space Station, burst into flames shortly after blasting off from the Wallops Flight Facility.

There were no reported injuries and as of last night the cause was unknown.

According to Spaceflight Insider, the launch was originally scheduled to take place on October 20, but was delayed three times.

At first it was delayed to allow additional further ground and space station pre-launch operations and later to allow for damage assessment and possible repairs to the tracking station.

It was rescheduled to launch on Monday, but lift-off was again set back due to a sailboat spotted near the launch site. The rocket was built by Orbital Sciences Corp, and was expected to be the company’s third contracted mission with NASA.