U.S. missile test explodes 11 seconds after launch
A test flight of a Minotaur missile with an updated warhead delivery system exploded 11 seconds after liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on July 6th.
Despite a news release saying the Minotaur II+ test would take place Thursday morning from the northern section of the base, the launch occurred the night before, at 11:01 p.m.
More than an hour after liftoff, Vandenberg officials confirmed the booster had exploded approximately 11 seconds after launching from Test Pad 01. There were no injuries in the explosion and the debris was contained to the immediate vicinity of the launch pad, Vandenberg officials said in a statement released early Thursday.
The military would not explain the change in launch time, nor provide much information about the explosion. According to the article, it is even possible that the contradiction between the announced launch time and when it actually occurred was because “military officials failed to account for the one-hour time difference between California and the home of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.”
Seems utterly absurd, but completely possible considering the general overall incompetence of our modern federal government.
A test flight of a Minotaur missile with an updated warhead delivery system exploded 11 seconds after liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on July 6th.
Despite a news release saying the Minotaur II+ test would take place Thursday morning from the northern section of the base, the launch occurred the night before, at 11:01 p.m.
More than an hour after liftoff, Vandenberg officials confirmed the booster had exploded approximately 11 seconds after launching from Test Pad 01. There were no injuries in the explosion and the debris was contained to the immediate vicinity of the launch pad, Vandenberg officials said in a statement released early Thursday.
The military would not explain the change in launch time, nor provide much information about the explosion. According to the article, it is even possible that the contradiction between the announced launch time and when it actually occurred was because “military officials failed to account for the one-hour time difference between California and the home of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.”
Seems utterly absurd, but completely possible considering the general overall incompetence of our modern federal government.