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 MOJAVE, California USA — Three people have died and three others were critically injured Thursday by an explosion at a Mojave Desert airport site used by the pioneering aerospace company that sent the first private manned rocket into space, authorities said.
Wreckage of equipment and vehicles could be seen in views broadcast by a TV news helicopters over the Mojave Air and Space Port in the high desert north of Los Angeles near Edwards Air Force Base. The blast occurred at a facility belonging to Scaled Composites LLC, caused two fatalities and at least four critical injuries, and left some toxic material, said Kern County fire Capt. Doug Johnston. Scaled Composites is the Mojave-based builder of SpaceShipOne, the first private manned rocket to reach space, and is developing a successor for the new space tourism business Virgin Galactic. Aerospace designer Burt Rutan, who heads Scaled, told The Associated Press he had no information and was heading to the scene. The blast site was in a remote unpaved section of the airport. Aerospace and defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. owns 40 percent of the company and recently agreed to acquire the rest of it. The deal is awaiting regulatory approval and should close next month. Northrop Grumman spokesman Dan McClain said the company had no comment on the explosion. Mojave airport is where the Rutan-designed Voyager aircraft was built. It made history in 1986 when it achieved the first nonstop flight around the world without refueling. In 2004, Rutan's SpaceShipOne, funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, made the first privately financed manned spaceflight by climbing more than 62 miles high on a suborbital journey above Mojave. SpaceShipOne went on to make two more flights to win the $10 million Ansari X Prize. Rutan has since been developing SpaceShipTwo for entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, who plans to offer $200,000 rides into space for tourists. An ambulance station at the airport responded immediately to the scene, said Mark Corum, a spokesman for Hall Ambulance Service. Paramedics reported two people were killed, four were critically injured and one suffered minor injuries, Corum said. The injured were airlifted to Kern Medical Center about 45 miles from the airport, he said. A call seeking comment from the airport manager was not immediately returned. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast, which happened around 2:45 p.m. in a remote section of the airport, said Tony Diffenbaugh, an inspector with the Kern County Fire Department. Kern County fire crews and bomb experts were en route to the scene, where there was concern that airport personnel could be exposed to hazardous materials, said sheriff's Deputy Vince Martinez. The airport is often crowded with parked airliners that are not in service. Its flight operations often involve unusual aircraft undergoing testing, and civilian test pilots undergo training there. Xcor Aerospace, another of the high-profile civilian rocket companies located there, was not involved in the blast, said Rich Pournelle, its director of business development. Bill Deaver, publisher of weekly Mojave Desert News, said the airport is an important part of the unincorporated community of about 4,000 people. The airport employs about 1,500 people, he said, and is the country's first inland spaceport certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. The airport has been a popular location of movie and television production. Part of "Speed" was filmed at the airport—a Boeing 707 was blown up in a scene that was supposed to be Los Angeles International Airport. Deaver said parts of other several other movies, including "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Waterworld" were filmed there. Copyright © 2007, The Associated Press.
07-27-2007 09:47 AM
#1
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Certified Level Three
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 145
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So I think we have it at 3 dead now. This is obviously very sad, and somewhat shocking to me because it was just Nitrous Oxide if I understand the test they were doing. I mean the hybrid motors are supposed to be so safe! Sad that they were not protected more, either at a greater distance or behind some bunker. But this is not really the time for speculation. I do wonder what this means for the project and the public view of similar work?
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07-27-2007 10:01 AM
#2
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When in doubt, ask Keenan
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1819
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Quote: I mean the hybrid motors are supposed to be so safe! The assumption of safety (I'm speaking generally here, not implying that these folks did that) is the most dangerous thing. |
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07-27-2007 10:21 AM
#3
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Certifiable
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 594
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Nitrous oxide is normally considered safe when compared to solid and pure liquid motors however it is a monopropellant and so it can be dangerous all by itself.
I think (and I'm only guessing) that in this case, there was a containment vessel rupture resulting in a pressure explosion. The sudden increase in pressure in the surrounding area is what caused all the damage. It is said that the main nitrous tank that Scaled uses is 3000 pounds of nitrous. That much nitrous with an air temp of 99 degrees F would be under high pressure (850psi to 1000psi?) and would cause major damage if it were to rupture. Also, a pressure explosion like that would travel much farther then you'd think and even if the people that were injured and killed were much farther away then they were, they might have still been injured or killed. From the pictures I've seen, the bunker that is at a normal safe distance and behind a earth berm had it's windows blown out. This would match witness reports of a large dust cloud but no flames.
Its a truly sad day.
-Aaron
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07-27-2007 01:06 PM
#4
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Certified Level Three
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 145
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Both good points...
Given the high pressure, the explosion could have resulted in a local BLEVE effect, or even a fuel-air explosive. Who knows what caused this, but I have to ask how clean do nitrous oxide tanks have to be? I know (from scuba) that tanks with high amounts of O2 (80 percent, 100 percent) have to be cleaned with great care as even a stray fingerprint inside the tank could cause them to explode when filled. Not being a big hybrid flier, I never knew what the deal is with this oxidizer.
I am just glad we have yet to have this kind of problem in hobby rocketry. I mean the worst accident I have ever seen was a guy blown off a ladder by a BP charge that went off on arming. I think he was fine.
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07-27-2007 05:34 PM
#5
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Administrator
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2548
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Glen May was one of the people killed...
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07-30-2007 12:56 PM
#6
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Administrator
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2548
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Scaled has announced information on a fund for those wishing to support the families of the deceased as well as the injured and their families.
Please send contributions to:
Scaled Family Support Fund
c/o Scaled Composites
1624 Flight Line
Mojave, CA. 93501
Acct # 04157-66832
Wire transfer ABA Routing #1220-0066-1
Please make checks payable to the account number or to the name of the fund.
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VIDEO: Gary Lineberry, CBS2 KCAL9, reports on the explosion at Mojave Desert airport. 
