Washington – June 18, 1999 – The head of a secret U.S. military space organization told Congress Tuesday human error was at the heart of the recent rash of U.S. space launch failures.
Keith Hall, head of the Pentagon’s National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) told the House Select Intelligence Committee that two Titan IV rockets failed to deliver their satellites to the proper orbits because of poor quality control.
Hall said that “a misplaced decimal point” in the rocket’s control software was the cause of a Titan IVB/Centaur failure in late April. Hall said that an investigation was still underway by the Air Force and the rocket’s builder, Lockheed Martin, and that a final cause for the computer software error would be identified.
Hall also said that the Air Force was working to clear the version of the military Titan IVB with the Boeing-made Inertial Upper Stage rocket for flight.
A unit similar to the one that misfired aboard a Titan IV in early April, dooming an early warning satellite, will be lofting NASA’s Chandra space telescope aboard the Space Shuttle next month.
The Air Force has promised NASA a clean bill of health for the upper stage rocket before the Shuttle launch.
Military ELV Reports From SpaceDaily
