[ExI] "Explosion at Scaled Composites test site kills 3"

[Eugen Leitl]

----- Forwarded message from Amara Graps <amara at amara.com> -----

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To: extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
From: Amara Graps <amara at amara.com>
Subject: Explosion at Scaled Composites test site kills 3


Uh oh. Someone we know?

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http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3419744

Explosion Kills 3 at Mojave Airport, Rocks Community Known for 
Pioneering Rocket Firm

By ALICIA CHANG
The Associated Press

MOJAVE, Calif.

An explosion that killed three at a Mojave Desert airport during testing
of a new space tourism vehicle has shaken a small community that prides
itself as the hometown of the first private space launch.

The blast Thursday at a remote test facility belonging to Scaled
Composites LLC critically injured three other employees working on a
propellant system for the vehicle.

The company, headed by maverick aerospace designer Burt Rutan, made
history in 2004 when its SpaceShipOne became the first private manned
rocket to reach space. Since that milestone, Rutan has partnered with
British billionaire Richard Branson to build a fleet of commercial
vehicles dubbed SpaceShipTwo for Virgin Galactic.

The accident occurred during a test of the flow of nitrous oxide through
an injector in the course of testing components for a new rocket motor
for the SpaceShipTwo. The chemical was at room temperature and under
pressure, Rutan said.

Stuart Witt, the airport's general manager who was in his office when
the explosion happened, said the airport is home to several commercial
space startups and is constantly buzzing with rocket and engine testing.

"What we do is inherently risky," Witt said. "These are not the days we
look forward to, but we deal with it."


rest of the story here:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3419744

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On the Net:

Scaled Composites: http://www.scaled.com


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And more news links:

http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/27/0117202&from=rss
http://jonstraveladventures.blogspot.com/2007/07/scaled-composites-explosion-and-future.html
http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2007/07/26/more-bad-space-news-explosion-at-scaled-composites-site/
http://scienceblogs.com/catdynamics/2007/07/explosion_at_scaled_composites.php
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/26/spaceport.blast/index.html

And

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What a sad situation.. for all of us!
http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/198908.html

(If Doug is working there now, he wasn't killed.
Let's hope he is not one of those injured too.)


-- 

Amara Graps, PhD      www.amara.com
Associate Research Scientist, Planetary Science Institute (PSI), Tucson
INAF Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (IFSI), Roma, Italia
-- 

Amara Graps, PhD      www.amara.com
Associate Research Scientist, Planetary Science Institute (PSI), Tucson
INAF Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (IFSI), Roma, Italia

----- End forwarded message -----
-- 
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
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