aatventure.news 26 years ago
building the future #Space and Time

Delta II Rocket Cracks in Half and Explodes in Rain of Fire

GPS IIR-1 or GPS SVN-42 was the first Block IIR GPS satellite to be launched. It was to have been operated as part of the United States Air Force Global Positioning System.

It was launched on 17 January 1997, and was destroyed 13 seconds into its flight due to a malfunction of the Delta II launch vehicle that was carrying it.


It was estimated to have cost US$40 million, with its launch vehicle costing US$55 million. The satellite that was used for the GPS IIR-1 mission was the second production IIR satellite, SVN-42.

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