The Video below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxKxzMLMcQU
January 31, 2007
Cause of Sea Launch explosion remains a mystery
TROUBLE AT THE EQUATOR
Long Beach-based Sea Launch says no one was injured late Tuesday when one of its Zenit-3SL rockets exploded during a scheduled launch from the ocean-going platform Odyssey. But the company, headed by Rob Peckham of Huntington Beach, has yet to provide more details about the accident, which occurred about 3:22 p.m. at a location near the equator, where the company was trying to send the NSS-8 telecommunications satellite into a parking orbit about Earth.
Paula Korn of Laguna Beach, the company's spokeswoman, said via e-mail that there will be "more info later when we assess."
We asked Korn whether Odyssey and its command ship, Sea Launch Commander, suffered damage during the explosion, which was webcast live. The video was taken down shortly after the accident. We've also asked for clarification of whether the explosion occurred before or during lift-off, and word of when the company's two vessels are expected to arrive back in Long Beach Harbor.
Only last week, the company had expressed confidence that it would perform a record six launches this year from Odyssey. There will now be an accident investigation, which likely means that one or more launches will be delayed.