Virginia to Re-Examine Spaceport Deal After Rocket Explosion

State officials plan to re-examine a deal with Orbital Sciences Corp. following the explosion of the supply rocket that damaged a state-owned launch pad on NASA’s Wallops Island flight facility in late October.

According to Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Lane Jr., the botched launch caused up to $20 million in damage to the launch pad’s support systems. The $150 million launch pad was funded largely by state bonds, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

Lane said McAuliffe’s administration may seek to renegotiate its agreement with Virginia-based Orbital Sciences. McAuliffe has also asked U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Timothy M. Kaine to look for federal funding to help pay for repairs.

Orbital’s unmanned commercial supply rocket, dubbed Antares, exploded moments after liftoff on its journey to the International Space Station Oct. 28. The company said it believes the failure is linked to a turbo pump in one of the rocket’s reconditioned Soviet engines.