U.S.

Rocket Explodes On Liftoff

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

August 26, 1998 / 11:01 PM EDT / CBS

An unmanned Boeing Delta III rocket making its debut flight veered off course and exploded about 72 seconds after liftoff from the Cape Canaveral Air Station, destroying PanAmSat's Galaxy 10 communications satellite in a spectacular $225-million failure.

The new rocket, intended to compete with European, Chinese, and U.S.-built Atlas rockets, blasted off at 9:17 p.m., 29 minutes late because of high winds aloft and a false alarm involving the system used to arm the rocket's self-destruct system.

CBS News Space Consultant Bill Harwood reports the early moments of the flight appeared normal as the rocket climbed away from its firing stand, lighting up the night sky for miles around. But about 72 seconds after liftoff, and more than 15 seconds after telemetry indicated the vehicle was having problems staying on course, the rocket's nose tipped over and the vehicle exploded in a shower of flaming debris.

It happened while engineers were waiting for the vehicle's six ground-lit solid-fuel boosters to be jettisoned and for three air-lit boosters to ignite.

Rich Murphy, Boeing Delta III mission director, indicated control problems started around 55 seconds after launch.

"We have very limited data that we've reviewed at this point," Murphy said at an early morning news conference Thursday. "However, I can say that what we have seen so far indicates the vehicle performed very nominally up to about 55 seconds, at which time it appeared to experience a control anomaly of some sort."

Long-range tracking cameras showed the rocket virtually disintegrating in multiple fireballs after the vehicle's nose swung sharply to one side, subjecting the rocket to extreme aerodynamic forces.

At least one solid-fuel booster or other component appeared to continue firing on its own for quite a while, indicating a possible failure of the rocket's self-destruct system. But appearances can be deceiving, and it's not yet clear precisely what was continuing to burn.

Wednesday night's failure was a devastating loss to Boeing and a major setback for PanAmSat. The Delta III is the first major U.S. rocket developed with private funding as a strictly commercial venture.

Hughes Space and Communications Co. HP601 relay station intended to provide television and telecommunication services for customers in North America and the Caribbean. Fred Landman, president and chief executive of PanAmSat, said the $225 million mission was fully insured and that a replacement satellite will be launched as soon as possible.

While the rocket is an upgraded version of Boeing's extremely reliable but less powerful Delta II, the new model features longer, more powerful solid-fuel boosters and a hydrogen-fueled second stage, giving the vehicle 25 percent more liftoff power than its smaller cousin.

The Delta III failure was the second major disaster in a row for rockets launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Station. On Aug. 12, an Air Forc Titan 4B rocket carrying a classified military satellite exploded 40 seconds after launch.