An expendable four-stage launch vehicle, the largest developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (now Orbital ATK). It was designed to launch the Cygnus cargo capsule to the International Space Station and launch a 7 000 kg payload into low Earth orbit. The first launch of Antares took place from the Wallops Flight Facility on 21 April 2013. It also demonstrated successful launches on 18 September 2013 and 9 January 2014. The Antares vehicle suffered a setback on 28 October 2014 when the rocket exploded seconds after lift-off, destroying its payload (a Cygnus spacecraft). The original design, which incorporated both solid and liquid stages, was upgraded with newly built first-stage engines to provide greater payload performance and increased reliability; an upgraded rocket launched successfully on 17 October 2016 topped with a Cygnus capsule, which it successfully deployed.