- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - A Titan 4A rocket carrying a top-secret spy
satellite exploded in a fireball of debris and smoke just after blastoff
from Cape Canaveral Wednesday, the Air Force said. With the rocket's value
estimated at $300 million and the satellite's at $800 million to $1 billion,
the failure was one of the costliest in the history of the U.S. space program.
The unmanned rocket, built by Lockheed Martin Corp, lifted off at 7:30
a.m. EDT carrying the satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office
(NRO). It began to self-destruct about 42 seconds later, the Air Force
said. There were no reports of injuries. In a statement, the Air Force
said the Titan rocket had begun to self-destruct, prompting ground crews
to destroy it. ``U.S. Air Force range safety officials sent destruct signals
to further break up the rocket and mitigate possible damage from falling
debris,'' the Air Force said. Brigadier General Randy Starbuck told a news
conference the Air Force had no information on what had caused the mishap.
He warned anyone who came across shreds of the doomed rocket or its ultra-secret
cargo to keep away from it. He said helicopters were surveying the water
off the Atlantic Coast where debris fell. ``There is debris out there in
the water. It should be considered hazardous material. If someone sees
that debris out there on the water, please don't pick it up,'' he said,
and asked anyone who saw debris to contact the 45th Space Wing at Patrick
Air Force Base, south of Cape Canaveral. The rocket was off the ground
and over the ocean when it exploded in an impressive blaze of light and
smoke. In video taken of the launch, it appeared to tip over just before
the explosion. The plume caused by its load of toxic fuel drifted out to
sea and dispersed after the blast, eliminating danger to coastal residents,
officials said. ``Oh no,'' the commentator said as the rocket burst. After
taking a deep breath, he said: ``At this time it appears we have had a
major malfunction of the vehicle. We have had an explosion.'' There were
two or three distinct loud bangs, setting off car alarms and burglar alarms
in nearby Cocoa Beach. Debris continued to arc up and out before it fell
toward the ocean. A press site about 7 miles from the launch pad was hurriedly
evacuated just after the rocket blew. Space analysts said the Titan was
carrying an eavesdropping satellite, code-named Vortex, that would have
listened in on military and government communications in global hotspots
such as the Middle East, India and Pakistan, and China. The satellite was
designed and built by the NRO, which would have operated it had it reached
orbit. A similar satellite was launched in May on another Titan rocket.
The launch had originally been scheduled for July, but was postponed so
ripped insulation on the rocket's upper stage could be repaired. On Wednesday,
launch had been set for 6:02 a.m. EDT, but was delayed because of problems
fueling the rocket, the Air Force said. The boosters that were the only
rockets firing at the time of the explosion were made by United Technologies
Corp., a subcontractor for Lockheed Martin, a Patrick Air Force Base spokeswoman
said. The 20-story rocket was laden with nearly 500,000 pounds of highly
toxic fuel. Under launch rules, the Air Force does not launch Titans if
there is any chance that propellants could be blown toward populated areas
in the event of an accident. The last Titan 4 rocket explosion was at Vandenberg
Air Force Base in California in August 1993. One of that rocket's solid
rocket boosters exploded a few seconds after liftoff. The Titan rocket
is the most powerful unmanned launch vehicle used by the United States.
The Titan 4A that blew up Wednesday was the last of that particular model
scheduled for launch. The air force introduced last year an improved version
of the rocket, also made by Lockheed Martin.
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