MISSILE FAILS

Press, Volume C, Issue 29669, 13 November 1961, Page 18

MISSILE FAILS

Death Of Monkey (N .Z.P.A.‘Reuter—Copyright) CAPE CANAVERAL (Florida), November 11. A tiny monkey named Goliath gave his life to science yesterday when he died in the blazing explosion of an Atlas missile high above Cape Canaveral. The huge rocket, with the IJlb squirrel monkey in its nose, roared skyward on an intended 5000-mile flight to the South Atlantic Ocean. It appeared to be flying a true course when suddenly, it veered nose downward and erupted into a boiling, bail of fire that spread several hundred feet across the sky Officials said there was no chance that the animal could survive the holocaust which occurred 30 seconds after the Atlas lifted off. The United States Air Force said the range safety, officer destroyed the missile when it became erratic. The blast spread a sea of flame several thousand feet in the air and showered burning pieces of the shattered rocket back on to the Cape area and into the Atlantic just off the shore Goliath probably died at the instant of explosion, the Associated Press said.. He was in a well-padded capsule located near the base of the 72ft nose cone and just above one of the fuel tanks. There was no escape mechanism to pull the monkey capsule free in such an emergency. Goliath, who had trained about six months for this mission, was not the first animal to perish in rocket flights aimed at finding means, of keeping man alive in space. There had been 28 other recorded animal deaths.