[Update: This article has been updated to include information from a NASA briefing Tuesday night.]

Orbital Science Corporation, supported by NASA, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, and the Federal Aviation Administration, has opened an investigation of the loss of the company's Antares rocket, which malfunctioned just seconds after lift-off Tuesday evening from its launch site on Virginia's Wallops Island.

The rocket's two first-stage motors had reached 108 percent of their typical thrust, as planned, when video showed additional flames erupted from the bottom of the first stage. The rocket slowed, then fell, exploding as it hit the ground.

The craft was carrying 5,000 pounds of science experiments, hardware, and crew supplies destined for the International Space Station. Had the launch gone as planned, the company's Cygnus cargo capsule would have docked with the station on Sunday.

No injuries or fatalities resulted from the explosion. Officials said the launch pad suffered damage, but at this point, it's unclear how extensive. A close inspection of the pad and of the debris field will begin at sun-up, according to Frank Culbertson, executive vice-president and general manager of the advanced projects group at Orbital Sciences.

Orbital Sciences is one of two companies NASA has hired to carry cargo to the space station. This was to have been the company's third cargo mission under a $1.9 billion contract with NASA. Its previous two cargo missions were successful.

The loss leaves Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX), based in Hawthorne, Calif., as the only company capable of supplying the station from the United States. It has a $1.6-billion cargo contract with the space agency and is one of two companies NASA is supporting to develop the capability to carry US astronauts to and from the station. So far, the company has conducted four successful resupply missions, in addition to two prior demonstration missions.

The loss would appear to validate NASA Administrator Charles Bolden's argument for selecting two private companies rather than one or a single NASA-owned launch vehicle for space transportation to low-Earth orbit, as some in Congress had argued. He told lawmakers that he didn't want US crew transportation to come to a halt if an accident occurred an event that would ground flights using the same hardware during the inevitable accident investigation and the implementation of the investigation's recommendations.

But the loss of rocket and cargo after what officials described as a flawless countdown with no signs of problems with the rocket's systems also could rekindle smoldering debates over the use of commercial carriers for lofting astronauts, even though Orbital Sciences was not in the running for that business.

At the least, the incident highlights the oft-heard mantra that getting into space is anything but routine.

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Update: Rocket explosion destroys NASA cargo bound for space station