Satellite Lost After Liftoff
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An Atlas-Centaur rocket carrying an $83-million satellite went out of control about a minute after blastoff today, destroying the vehicle in another devastating NASA failure.
The main engines of the 137-foot rocket, one of only two Atlas-Centaurs left in NASA’s inventory, flashed to life at 1:22 p.m. PST, 14 minutes behind schedule because of weather. The initial phases of the launching appeared normal, but about one minute after blastoff ground controllers reported that all data radioed from the rocket had stopped. Seconds before the loss of data, a “mild attitude disturbance” was reported.
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