Sends Spy Satellite Into Orbit From 'Cursed' Pad
Is it possible for a
launch pad to be cursed? Before you say no... consider the odd and,
frankly, creepy history of the SLC-6 site at California's
Vandenburg Air Force Base.
Up until the successful June 28 launch of a Boeing Delta IV
rocket carrying a spy satellite from the pad -- known colloquially
as "Slick-6" -- the Space Launch Complex had a checkered history of
spectacular failures, beginning with its original reason for
existence.
Construction of the site began in March 1966, to support
launches of Titan III rockets supporting the Air Force's planned
Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program. When crews began
excavating the site, however, they came across human remains.
It turns out the site was an ancient burial ground for the
Chumash Indian tribe. Despite requests from the tribe for time to
study and excavate the site, NASA went ahead and built over the
site... and as anyone well-versed in mystical forces could tell
you, that's NEVER good karma.
Local legend has it a Chumash tribal leader placed a curse on
the site, in his anger over NASA's refusal to honor the
remains.
Of course.. curses don't exist, right? Well... before you say
no, consider these facts --
- The MOL program -- intended to put a military space station
into orbit to spy on the Russians -- was scrapped shortly after the
pad was completed
- Plans to begin shuttle launches from the California site were
cancelled in the wake of the 1986 Challenger disaster
- The 1995 launch of a Lockheed communications satellite from the
site -- 29 years after ground was first broken at Slick-6 -- failed
when the rocket's hydraulic system bugged out shortly after
liftoff.
- The August 1997 launch of the Lewis spacecraft started out
promisingly -- but, alas, the satellite entered a flat spin after
it reached orbit... which misaligned the probe's solar panels with
the sun. Once month later, it returned to Earth... burning up in
Earth's atmosphere.
- The April 1999 launch of the Ikonos commercial spy satellite
met a similar fate, after its nosecone failed to separate after
liftoff.. and it wound up in the Pacific Ocean
A successful launch from SLC-6 finally occurred the following
September, when a duplicate Ikonos satellite was placed in orbit by
a Lockheed Athena booster... after the aerospace manufacturer
allegedly hired a Chumash priest to remove the curse from SLC-6
(Lockheed denies such a ceremony took place.)
While the satellite was successful, however, the rocket was not
-- Lockheed wound up taking a bath on the Athena program, with only
a handful of rockets sold. Boeing hopes its Delta IV booster meets
a better fate... and so far, all systems seem to be normal for the
National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite, NROL-22.
Emphasis on "so far"... and no word yet on whether Boeing asked
forgiveness from the spirits before the rocket lifted off.