The explosion of an unmanned U.S. rocket to the International Space Station has shone a spotlight on America’s reliance on overseas space hardware

The explosion of an unmanned U.S. rocket to the International Space Station late Tuesday has shone a spotlight on America’s reliance on overseas space hardware, some of which dates back to Soviet era Russia.

Built by Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Sciences as part of a $1.9 billion contract with NASA, the Antares rocket exploded in a fireball just 6 seconds after liftoff from Wallops Island in Virginia.

It’s too early to say what caused the blast, according to Orbital Sciences and NASA. During a press conference late on Tuesday, however, Orbital Sciences executive vice president Frank Culbertson was quizzed about Orbital’s use of refurbished Russian engine hardware.

“We don’t know whether the engine was involved in this or not,” he said. “That’s something that we will try to determine as quickly as possible.” More

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