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BMDO blows up Kodiak test rocket
November 10, 2001 |
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From: Stacey Fritz The news so far is very sketchy on what happened there today, but it appears that the BMDO went ahead with their test launch from the Kodiak Launch Facility today, lost communication with the rocket, and were forced to destruct it. They are saying it landed in the ocean about 65 miles off the coast of Kodiak. No one knew when they were going to launch, but everyone assumed it would not be today because the weather in Kodiak was terrible - the person I talked to there said sustained 25 knot winds out of the northwest with gusts up to 35, snow and rain. Also Cordova, where all the tracking for the launches is set up, was experiencing a snow storm. On the news they showed some footage of what had to be another launch, looked like a clear sunny day. 65 miles off coast would put the missile some distance from the trajectory that the BMDO supposedly planned to use. What the heck were they doing???? Here is the article that ran in Alaska papers this morning:
Next Rocket launch from Kodiak set - The next rocket launch from Kodiak is set to take place between today and Nov. 21, officials said this week. The Army has been keeping mum on the date because of security concerns stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The takeoff from the Kodiak rocket complex will be a nonorbital rocket sent up for the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. The craft will be used in testing of the proposed missile defense initiative. Officials said it is possibly the first of four such launches from the complex. In late September, the complex sent up a long-delayed orbital launch of a Lockheed Martin Athena 1 rocket. The rocket carried four satellites into space. It was the first orbital launch ever conducted from Alaska. The mission had been delayed by the terrorist attacks because technicians couldn't make it to Alaska on commercial flights. Then weather and solar flares caused further delays.
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From: Carolyn Heitman
Kodiak Island They launched the strategic missile this morning (Friday, Nov. 9) from the Kodiak Launch Complex and then had to 'blow it up' downrange because they 'lost' communications with it. Those 'idiots' launched in snow/rain and winds. The weather was terrible today. Unbelievable they would launch! The AP called Mike Siroffchuch to see what he knew, because the reporter was having trouble getting information. We don't know very much ourselves. Most of the launch people 'skipped town' right away after the missile abort (chickens). There is suppose to be a news release out of Huntsville, Ala. (USASMDC), but we don't know when. Monday's a holiday. The Alaska news had a very brief report on the
missile failure, but the launch they showed was a previous one (blue skies).
This launch was the 225 degree SW trajectory down the east side of Kodiak
Island, and it's the launch we were worried about if there was an accident.
The missile carried 'radioactive' Thorium, Freon, Halon, Abestos. It's
all in the ocean now unless some the missile debris landed on Kodiak Island
somewhere.
When we see a DOD news release, we'll forward it on to you.
Stacey Fritz in Fairbanks wrote up a quick story, but like us, she doesn't
have all the details yet.
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Test Rocket Destroyed Over Alaska ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Nov. 10) - A rocket fired from Alaska's Kodiak Launch Complex had to be destroyed seconds after liftoff Friday when trackers lost communication with it. It was the first time a rocket used in testing for the missile defense program had to be destroyed after launch, said Col. Rick Lehner, spokesman for the missile defense program in Washington. The rocket was launched from the complex, operated by the Alaska Aerospace Development Corp., at 9:12 a.m. It was destroyed 52 seconds later when launch officials lost telemetry data and data transmission, Lehner said. ''It seems to be a telemetry problem and safety rules dictate that, if you lose that type of data transmission, you have to destroy the missile,'' Lehner said. Despite the loss of data, the rocket remained on course until it was destroyed. Lehner said a board would investigate. ''It could take weeks to figure out what caused the problem,'' he said. The missile's pieces dropped into the ocean and were spread over an area 17 to 45 miles from the island, Lehner said. The military had announced Wednesday that it planned to launch the rocket sometime between Friday and Nov. 21, but would not give the exact time and date, citing security concerns after the Sept. 11 attacks. The Coast Guard had warned mariners to stay out of the launch clearance area due to the possibility of falling debris, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Douglas Green. The rocket was launched to learn more about how ground-based radar systems in California would pick up the characteristics of a warhead and decoys in space, Lehner said. |
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Missile defense test goes
awry
ANCHORAGE--A rocket sent aloft from the Kodiak Launch Complex had to be
destroyed seconds after liftoff Friday when trackers lost communication with the
missile. It was the first time a rocket used in testing for the missile defense
program had to be destroyed after launch, said Col. Rick Lehner, spokesman for
the missile defense program in Washington, D.C. The rocket was launched from the complex, operated by the Alaska Aerospace
Development Corp., at 9:12 a.m. It was destroyed 52 seconds later when launch
officials lost telemetry data and data transmission from the missile, Lehner
said. "It seems to be a telemetry problem and safety rules dictate that, if
you lose that type of data transmission, you have to destroy the missile,"
Lehner said. Despite the loss of data, the rocket remained on course until it
was destroyed. A board would be convened to investigate the problem, Lehner
said. "It could take weeks to figure out what caused the problem," he
said. The missile was 20 miles off the coast of Kodiak when the order came to blow
it up. The pieces dropped into the ocean and were spead over an area 17 to 45
miles from the island, Lehner said. The military had announced Wednesday that it planned to launch the rocket
sometime between Friday and Nov. 21, but would not give the exact time and date,
citing security concerns stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Coast Guard had been broadcasting a notice to mariners in the area,
warning vessels to stay out of the launch clearance area due to safety hazards
caused by falling debris between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. from Nov. 9
through Nov. 21, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Douglas Green. The rocket was launched to learn more about how ground-based radar systems in
California would pick up the characteristics of a warhead and decoys in space,
Lehner said. "It's a strategic target system that carries a dummy warhead and various
types of decoys and what we were trying to do is gather radar and sensor data on
how the warhead and decoys flew," Lehner said. The information would be used to help design missile defense technology, he
said. The rocket was the first of four scheduled to be launched from Kodiak over
the next two years to test radar systems, Lehner said. If it had not been
destroyed, the rocket would have flown south and fallen into the Pacific Ocean,
several hundred miles off the coast of California. Lehner described the rocket as the first two stages of a Polaris missile and
the third stage of an Orbis rocket. "These are all tried and true rocket missiles," Lehner said. |
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