Moment Nasa Antares rocket explodes, captured on video by air passenger

From above, the fireball looks like a blazing sun.

The unmanned Orbital Sciences Antares rocket exploded into a huge fireball moments after take-off. (Ed Sealing)

An aeroplane passenger has filmed a jaw-dropping video of the moment a NASA rocket exploded during take-off.

The footage, filmed on the passenger’s Apple iPad Mini, was shot from a Cessna 177 propeller plane flying at over 900ft above the Virginia, USA, launch site.

The unmanned Orbital Sciences Antares rocket, which was supposed to be destined for the International Space Station, exploded into a huge fireball moments after take-off.

The video was taken by Ed Sealing, who described the events of the failed launch as “very unfortunate”.

Antares was intended to send an Orbital-3 Cygnus cargo ship loaded with roughly 2300kgs of supplies to the six people living on the space station.

Russia's space agency, Roskosmos, said it was ready to help resupply cargo to the space station if NASA requested; the space station is jointly controlled by both the US and Russia.

Shortly after the explosion a Russian Progress supply vehicle launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, with its capsule, carrying around 2300kgs of food, fuel and other supplies, reaching the station just after 1pm GMT.

No one was hurt in the accident, but people on the ground around the launch site said the explosion, visible in the video, shook buildings for miles around.