1st Commercial Rocket Burns on Launch Pad

The first American rocket totally designed and built with commercial funds fizzled and burned on the launch pad today, vanishing behind a cloud of smoke and flame.

“We lighted it up, and for one reason or the other it didn’t lift off,” said Jim Bennett, president of American Rocket Co. “So we ordered the release clamps reengaged and went into our scrub procedure, but the vehicle caught on fire.

“There was fire on the pad, which is now close to burning itself out,” Bennett said, adding that no one was injured. “The Air Force says there was minimal pad damage. . . . But the vehicle is non-flyable.”

The 58-foot-tall rocket was to have soared on a $2-million, 15-minute suborbital flight to test “Star Wars” missile detectors and a heat shield parachute that might help astronauts escape a space station emergency.

“Once the flames came out of the rocket, we kept waiting for it to lift off and didn’t see it leave the pad,” said Amroc spokesman Bon Angelotti. “People were saying, ‘It didn’t take off! It didn’t take off!’ Then flame and black smoke began to come out of the bottom of the rocket cylinder. The smoke completely blocked out the view of rocket.”

The launch had been planned Sept. 28 but was scrubbed by clouds and fear that lightning might hit the 33,400-pound rocket, which is powered by a hybrid engine that runs on a combination of liquid oxygen and a solid fuel of polybutadiene rubber.

American Rocket said its booster was the first one designed and built only with commercial funds. Rockets used in other commercial launches this year were built under government programs although later sold for commercial use, according to the Camarillo-based company.

“This is the rocket business, and this is why you do test flights,” said an “obviously disappointed” Bennett. “It’s not at all uncommon for your first prototype to have a problem like this. We’ll be investigating and learning from it and go on.”

The rocket was dubbed the “Koopman Express” after American Rocket’s late founder, George Koopman, who died July 19 while driving to a rocket test at Edwards Air Force Base.

Bennett said it probably will be next year before Amroc attempts another launch.