Desert Crash For Europa I

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31440, 5 August 1967, Page 15

Desert Crash For Europa I

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

ADELAIDE, August 4.

The Europa I rocket crashed into the central Australian desert today after the second stage failed to ignite, it was disclosed tonight.

The mishap occurred after the successful launching, at the eleventh attempt, of the first-stage British Blue Streak rocket from the Woomera range, north of Adelaide. The rocket crashed after the French-built Coralie sec-ond-stage rocket failed to ignite and plunged, with the burnt-out Blue Streak, into the Simpson desert, 600 miles north of Woomera. The announcement of the abortive flight came about five hours after officials revealed the successful launching. In the absence of any announcement to the contrary, Australian news media had reported the flight had been successful, with the rocket soaring 435 miles into space then dropping into the Pacific off New Guinea, 2920 miles from Woomera.

No journalists were, flown to the Woomera range for today’s launching. An official statement tonight by the European Launcher Development Organisation representative in Australia, Colonel J. Dutton, said flight data indicated that the first stage followed its planned flight but burned for 150 seconds instead of the planned 153 seconds. “The second stage motors did not ignite,” he said, “and

we believe the vehicle disintegrated with the first stage over the first-stage target zone.”