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The Nome Nugget
Nome, Nome County, Alaska
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A Thor-Able Star rocket failed 20 minutes after launch from Cape Canaveral, causing five satellites to fall into the sea south of Cuba. This ruined the US's most ambitious multiple payload space experiment. Upcoming: Ranger 3 to Moon on Friday, Glenn's orbital flight on Saturday.
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Attempt to Boost Five
Satellites Into Orbit
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) - Rocket failure today ruined an attempt to boost five satellites into orbit simultaneously to probe a number of space mysteries.
The space quintuplets hurtled into the sky at 4:30 a.m. circled snugly in the nose of an 80-foot Thor-Able Star rocket. The first stage of the 55-ton rocket performed normally and observers at the Cape saw the second stage ignite.
But 20 minutes after launch the Defense Department announced that the upper stage failed to build up sufficient thrust after ignition and the $3.5-million vehicle fell into the sea "well south of Cuba."
The failure wrecked the United States' most ambitious multiple payload experiment to date. Attempts have been made previously to send three satellites aloft with one booster, but never as many as five.
This was to have been the first of three major U.S. space efforts scheduled this week. On Friday, an Atlas-Agena rocket is slated to hurl a Ranger 3 payload to the Moon to take closeup television pictures and land an instrument package on the lunar surface.
The attempt to orbit astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. is set for Saturday.
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Location
Cape Canaveral, Fla.; Sea Well South Of Cuba
Event Date
Today At 4:30 A.M.; Friday; Saturday
Story Details
Rocket failure 20 minutes after launch prevented five satellites from orbiting to probe space mysteries. The $3.5-million Thor-Able Star rocket's upper stage failed to build thrust and fell into the sea. This was the first of three major U.S. space efforts that week, followed by Ranger 3 to the Moon and Glenn's orbital attempt.