On January 17, 1997, Dr. Jay Bernard of the Aerospace Company
called his insurance adjuster. Skeptical,
the agent could not believe what the doctor was telling him: his car had been hit by a rocket.
That afternoon, the Delta II rocket with a nearly perfect history of satellite launches had lifted
off from Cape Canaveral, carrying the first GPS II-R satellite to modernize the current network.
But within 13 seconds of taking off, the entire spacecraft exploded in midair,
igniting a dangerous rain of rubble that fell all over the surroundings of the Air Force Base,
even setting several parked cars on fire.
The impressive footage in the news was enough to prove Dr. Bernard’s case…
A Significant Improvement
The first-ever GPS satellite was launched in 1978,
and a very dependable launch vehicle was created over a decade later.
First launched on February 14, 1989, the Delta II rocket was lifted off
from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the initial GPS Block II satellite.
As stated by Air Force officials, the system was a significant improvement
over previous designs, requiring a specific launch window for each orbital position.
The expendable launch system was built by McDonnell Douglas
with the involvement of the Aerospace Company
in the development and integration of their precious cargo of GPS satellites.
As CNN described at the time: (QUOTE) "The rocket was carrying the first in a new generation of
Global Positioning System satellites that can enable people to pinpoint time to within
a millionth of a second, speed to a fraction of a mile per hour, and location to within a few feet."
During its career, the spacecraft had a 99 percent success rate, effectively positioning
the Delta II among the most reliable launch vehicles despite two significant failures.
Failures
On August 5, 1995, Delta II launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,
loaded with a Koreasat-1 satellite. The launch went smoothly,
but a solid rocket motor did not separate correctly.
As a result, the vehicle entered orbit too slowly and caused problems when reaching its correct
trajectory and ultimate orbit. While it eventually managed to position itself in the right orbit,
the spacecraft had to use extra fuel, which considerably shortened its operational life.
Then, a year and a half later, the launch vehicle
would be involved in an accident that far surpassed that first minor setback.
On January 17, 1997, the launch vehicle was intended to carry the new generation of Air Force
satellites into orbit: GPS IIR-1, or GPS SVN-42, the first satellite of the Block IIR production.
GPS IIR-1 was loaded on the unmanned Delta II 7925-9.5 launch vehicle, serial number D241.
The launch was set to take place from Launch Complex 17A
at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, or CCAFS.
But as the rocket took off at 4:28:01 pm UTC,
something went quickly wrong, and the world was watching.
Precipitation
Within 13 seconds of liftoff, Delta II blew up. And with it, 40 million dollars worth
of navigational satellite technology, in addition to the 55-million-dollar rocket.
Air Force officials reported that the rocket actually self-destructed after an anomaly
ten seconds into the flight, with a warning soon coming through the loudspeakers at the facility:
(QUOTE) "Take cover immediately from falling debris. I'll say again:
Take cover immediately from falling debris."
As captured on camera, the explosion turned into a rain of millions of pieces falling back to
the ground. Debris soon covered the Air Force Station and even reached the Atlantic Ocean.
Some of it landed around the launch pad, igniting a small fire, while others fell onto the parking
lot outside the complex blockhouse. The rubble destroyed at least 20 cars and vehicles.
In total, 215 tons of debris fell within 3,000 feet of the launch pad alone,
not including the bits that made their way to the nearby grounds
belonging to the Air Force Space and Missile Museum.
The authorities advised the personnel to stay inside with the windows closed
and even the air conditioning systems turned off as a precautionary measure. Even though the
air service affirmed the smoke wasn't toxic, an official at the Brevard County Emergency
Operations Center clarified that vapors could be irritating and harmful to humans and animals.
Moreover, the explosion was reportedly felt as long as 25 miles away
and even damaged store windows within 10 miles.
Meanwhile, sheriff's deputies warned residents in and around the area to also remain inside,
taking all the necessary precautions to avoid breathing the fuel fumes.
They saw the rain of fire lighting up the Florida sky from the safety of their homes.
Rocket Science
In further investigations, it was concluded that it was the rocket's
onboard computer that activated the flight termination system. The signal
then detonated the explosive charges aboard the spacecraft, causing the succeeding blast.
Still, the Redundant Inertial Flight Control Assembly or RIFCA,
part of the avionics upgrades the rocket had received, managed to survive the outburst. The
system landed safely on the beach and was promptly recovered and returned to the manufacturer.
When the inertial sensor assembly was re-installed into new housing and powered up,
Dr. Bernard gleefully expressed: (QUOTE) "The RIFCA performed flawlessly! Once again,
a tribute to all who designed and built this powerful guidance system."
Unfortunately, the rocket did not work as expected.
Later investigations determined that there was a crack in the casing of a solid rocket motor,
leading to the failure. The problem started at T+6 seconds and expanded rapidly; six seconds later,
the solid rocket booster SRB casing ruptured, unleashing a chain of events.
Several pieces fell apart and struck the solid rocket booster next to the motor,
ultimately damaging it. Then, 13 seconds into the flight, the safety destruct charges activated,
and the rocket auto-terminated. As a result, the first stage and the remaining SRBs were detonated.
The upper stages were thus freed and blasted into the air, and at T+21 seconds,
the Range Safety Officer manually destroyed the upper stages for safety purposes,
sending the termination command. The rocket’s remaining part was ripped into pieces.
Meanwhile, the GPS satellite and payload shroud managed to survive the flames
but were lost upon impact with the ground.
It was never fully determined what exactly triggered the automatic destruct system, with
potential causes being a pulled lanyard, a shock wave from the ruptured SRB, or even the heat.
Nevertheless, it was found that support from a new transportation system that had
been recently introduced excessively pressured and damaged the booster.
The system was revised after the disastrous launch, and a new
ultrasound inspection of the boosters was put in place for future flights.
The End of an Era
When the rocket exploded, it was merely 1,610 feet above the complex, making it the
lowest-altitude launch failure at Cape Canaveral as far back as the 1965 Atlas-Centaur AC-5.
The subsequent Delta II launches were postponed after the accident until the cause
of failure was thoroughly investigated, and more importantly, corrective action was taken. Still,
the launch vehicle returned to service on May 5, 1997, and made a successful comeback.
During the following decades, the Delta II launched NASA probes to Mars and Mercury,
as well as the Moon and several asteroids. In addition,
it conveyed into orbit 48 GPS navigation satellites all the way through 2009,
not to mention commercial satellites for companies like Iridium and Globalstar.
Then, in 2018, the Delta II rocket completed its final flight, the 155th
in the vehicle's history and the 100th consecutive successful one,
an event the Aerospace Company called: (QUOTE) "The end of an era."
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