Sep 21 2001
From The Space Library
A rocket carrying a NASA satellite and other payloads failed to reach orbit. The 91-foot (27.7-meter) Taurus rocket launched at 11:49 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and within minutes, NASA observed indications of problems with the rocket, including a skewed trajectory near the time of the first-stage separation. The rocket’s manufacturer Orbital Sciences Corporation was uncertain about the exact details of the launch problem but presumed that the rocket had not reached orbit. The rocket was carrying NASA’s ozone-analyzing Quick Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (QuikTOMS) satellite, a private imaging satellite called OrbView-4, and a private payload with the cremated remains of individuals who had paid to have their remains launched into orbit. (Associated Press, “Rocket Launch with NASA, Orbital Sciences Payload Goes Awry, Satellites Probably Lost,” 21 September 2001.)
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