ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 5, 1996 TAG: 9606050041
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PARIS
Europe's top scientists were toasting each other with champagne Tuesday when they watched in horror as their new unmanned rocket exploded on its maiden launch.
Europe had been counting on the $7billion Ariane5 program, touted as launching a new age in commercial satellite technology, to seal its dominance of a multibillion-dollar market.
But one minute after liftoff from the European Space Agency's launch facility in French Guiana, technicians had to blow up the rocket because it appeared it was veering off course and might crash.
The United States lost $50million worth of instruments being carried aboard four satellites, NASA spokesman Don Savage said in Washington.
Seventy-six U.S. scientists were involved in the project with the European Space Agency to measure solar energy in space. ``Space exploration is a very risky business. Accidents do happen,'' Savage said.
Officials said the rocket was blown up by remote control at a height of 13,120 feet as a safety precaution to prevent it from slamming back toward Kourou, the capital of French Guiana, on the northeast shoulder of South America.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 33 linesby CNB