Rockwell’s Test Facility Evacuated in Satellite Fire

Sixteen people were evacuated and eight people were treated for smoke inhalation after a short-circuit started a smoldering electrical fire Monday in a $43-million navigational satellite being tested at Rockwell International Corp.’s Seal Beach plant, a company spokesman said.

The short occurred about 1:45 p.m., and the smoldering fire was under control within a few minutes, Orange County Fire Department spokeswoman Patti Range said.

The satellite is one of 28 satellites Rockwell is building for the Air Force’s Navstar Global Positioning System under a $1.2-billion contract it won in 1983--the largest contract in dollars ever awarded for satellite production. When fully operational, the Navstar system will enable military and civilian users to chart fixes anywhere on Earth to within 45 feet.

Military uses for the system include not only routine navigation but also precision bombing, guiding missiles and aiming artillery.

The satellite that was damaged Monday was the third Rockwell has built under the current contract and was “pretty well completed,” company spokesman Bill Shuffield said. It was undergoing routine electrical tests when the short occurred in or near the satellite’s three nickel-cadmium batteries, he said, adding that the cause of the short is still under investigation.

Damage to the spacecraft, which Shuffield termed “pretty minor,” appeared to be limited to the batteries and adjacent wiring, he said. He declined to give a dollar estimate of the damage.

The batteries power the spacecraft when it is shielded from the sun and cannot use its solar panels.

None of the 28 satellites Rockwell is building have been delivered to the military yet. Ten Navstar satellites built by Rockwell under a previous contract, however, are in orbit.

Anthony Martin, a software engineer in the satellite division, described the incident as “incredible. Nothing like this ever happens to these satellites,” Martin said. “The satellites are tested everyday.”