( CNN ) -- It seems people only pay attention anymore when the rocket blows up . Just seconds into its launch Tuesday evening , the Orbital Sciences Antares rocket , carrying supplies to the International Space Station , suffered an explosion in the aft end of its first stage , fell back onto the launch pad and blew up in a spectacular fireball . Within minutes , the major news organizations had picked up the story and began running live interviews of eyewitnesses and experts . We learned of the experiments that were being transported to the ISS , including several student/school science projects . Had all gone as planned , the news of the launch would have earned scant mention , and certainly very few in the general public would have known anything about what was on board . Twenty years ago , I launched on my first space shuttle mission . At the time , the O.J . Simpson trial was under way , and I understand that at least one major TV news station , covering the launch live , waited until we had cleared the launch pad tower , then immediately relegated our ascent into a small corner of the screen in order to go back live to the trial . In a way , we are victims of our own success . People have gotten so used to successful flights that nothing gets their attention unless there is a mishap . And , maybe that 's OK. One day , spaceflight should advance to the point of being routine , not unlike air travel . We 've come a long way since launching the early astronauts into space more than 50 years ago , but accidents like this serve as a reminder that spaceflight still should not be taken for granted . By their nature , rockets and rocket engines are unforgiving , containing complex components , which must work correctly to get into space . Although the Antares explosion was a significant mishap , we will get through this . The accident investigation team will determine the root cause . We will learn from it and build even more robust rockets in the future . The crew on board ISS do not face any immediate shortages , although the shortfall from this failure will have to be made up . Without a doubt , critics will arise and question why we are entrusting cargo deliveries and future crew exchanges to commercial companies . The answer is simple : It is the logical evolution of technology and commercialization , following the same path as the development of the airplane and commercial air transportation . There is plenty of government oversight of airline operations , as there is plenty of such oversight of commercial space operations through NASA and the FAA . This mishap is painful , but it is only a speed bump on the way to the commercialization of spaceflight . We will get there , and it will be soon . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Leroy Chiao .
Former space shuttle commander : We tend to focus on the launches that fail . He says it 's a reminder of the difficulty of space flight but we will get through this . Chiao : Critics will ask whether it signals privatization of space is a mistake . He says space flight is following other industries , like airplanes , toward commercialization .