Failed rocket launch a setback for US hypersonic weapon program, Kodiak Launch Complex

[unhappycamper]

http://www.adn.com/article/20140826/failed-rocket-launch-setback-us-hypersonic-weapon-program-kodiak-launch-complex



Damage is visible at the Kodiak Launch Complex after a rocket launch was aborted early Monday morning, August 25, 2014, at the site. The rocket was carrying an Advanced Hypersonic Weapon, a glider that once launched from a rocket flies a non-ballistic trajectory to its target. The flight was terminated less than four seconds after the launch. The launch was controlled remotely -- no people were in the buildings shown in the photo at the time of the launch.

Failed rocket launch a setback for US hypersonic weapon program, Kodiak Launch Complex
Dermot Cole
August 26, 2014

As a 48-foot rocket lifted off from the Kodiak Launch Complex Monday, a flight control operator realized it would never fly. Four seconds into the mission, he triggered the “Flight Termination System,” setting off an explosion that split the motor casing and lit up the night sky.

The blast destroyed the three-stage rocket and an experimental glider with winglets that sat atop the rocket under a nosecone. The test produced a pile of debris and stands as a setback for a costly military research program aimed at developing an unmanned glider capable of carrying weapons thousands of miles at thousands of miles per hour.

While the Pentagon begins to pick up the pieces, the failure to launch raises new questions about the future of the state-owned Alaska Aerospace Corp.

Craig Campbell, president of Alaska Aerospace, said Tuesday it may be a few days before officials can perform an internal inspection of the damaged launch site and nearby buildings. That review may not happen before Thursday, when the corporate board is to hold a regularly scheduled meeting in Kodiak. The accident is likely to be a prime topic.