1) Kodiak resident and independent Kodiak Launch Complex researcher Carolyn Heitman fired off an email to Lt. Col. Rick Lehner of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization yesterday. Plenty of Kodiak residents are, understandably, upset and emotional about this failed missile test. Due to security concerns stemming from Sept. 11, the BMDO does not have to announce the exact date of tests now. (The BMDO actually requested the privilege of secret test dates in November of 2000). So, no one on Kodiak knew exactly when the launch would be held. By the time (Friday eve.) they learned there had even been a test, most of the BMDO officials had left the island. I have included Carolyn's email to Lt. Col. Lehner here because she summarizes the main concerns and questions of many Kodiak residents.
2) Copied further below is the article on the aborted launch that ran in the Fairbanks and Anchorage papers on Saturday.
Lt. Col. Lehner,
Well, you guys finally made the Kodiak public's worst fear happen. It is 'unbelievable'
that any intelligent person would launch a missile in a snow/rain, wind storm.
The weather was so bad in Kodiak and Cordova yesterday (November 9), that it
is no wonder communications were lost with the missile. What happened to 'safety'
by not launching in high winds and unfavorable weather conditions? That's $100
'million' of taxpayers money down the drain. The missile abort may have been
preventable if it was launched in decent weather.
Yesterday's missile launch was 'supposed' to be the 225 degree SW trajectory
down the east side of Kodiak Island. The FAA required a 70 nautical mile 'Warning
Zone' for the launch, so missile debris flew out in all directions over the
ocean (and possibly parts of Kodiak Island), with the 'radioactive' Thorium,
Freon, Halon and Abestos. Hopefully someone on a fishing boat saw the whole
thing happen and then the public will know for certain where missile pieces
landed, because people in Kodiak are sure not going to take the word of Pat
Ladner at the AADC. The picture of the rocket launch shown on Alaska statewide
news yesterday, wasn't even yesterday's missile launch! It was a picture of
a previous 'rocket' launch. The grass is no longer 'green' in Alaska. Not a
good public relations move.
Do you have any idea what something like this is going to do to the fishing
industry in our area? Fishermen are proposing to try and sell Alaskan salmon
as an 'organic' product. Who is going to want to buy fish that is swimming around
in 'contaminated' Alaskan waters caused by toxic, hazardous missile chemicals?
The BMDO should find people who know what they are doing when it comes to launching
missiles in 'winter weather' conditions, because the people who launched yesterday,
sure don't have any sense. The majority of them 'hi-tailed' it out of town right
after the launch (too 'chicken' to stick around and face our press people we
are guessing).
Respectfully,
Carolyn Heitman
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Article Last Updated:
Saturday, November 10, 2001 - 4:59:18 AM MST
Missile defense test goes awry
By MAUREEN CLARK
The Associated Press Reporter
ANCHORAGE--A rocket sent aloft from the Kodiak Launch Complex had to be destroyed
seconds after liftoff Friday when trackers lost communication with the missile.
It was the first time a rocket used in testing for the missile defense program had to be destroyed after launch, said Col. Rick Lehner, spokesman for the missile defense program in Washington, D.C.
The rocket was launched from the complex, operated by the Alaska Aerospace Development Corp., at 9:12 a.m. It was destroyed 52 seconds later when launch officials lost telemetry data and data transmission from the missile, Lehner said.
"It seems to be a telemetry problem and safety rules dictate that, if you lose that type of data transmission, you have to destroy the missile," Lehner said. Despite the loss of data, the rocket remained on course until it was destroyed. A board would be convened to investigate the problem, Lehner said.
"It could take weeks to figure out what caused the problem," he said.
The missile was 20 miles off the coast of Kodiak when the order came to blow it up. The pieces dropped into the ocean and were spead over an area 17 to 45 miles from the island, Lehner said.
The military had announced Wednesday that it planned to launch the rocket sometime between Friday and Nov. 21, but would not give the exact time and date, citing security concerns stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The Coast Guard had been broadcasting a notice to mariners in the area, warning vessels to stay out of the launch clearance area due to safety hazards caused by falling debris between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. from Nov. 9 through Nov. 21, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Douglas Green.
The rocket was launched to learn more about how ground-based radar systems in California would pick up the characteristics of a warhead and decoys in space, Lehner said.
"It's a strategic target system that carries a dummy warhead and various types of decoys and what we were trying to do is gather radar and sensor data on how the warhead and decoys flew," Lehner said.
The information would be used to help design missile defense technology, he said.
The rocket was the first of four scheduled to be launched from Kodiak over the next two years to test radar systems, Lehner said. If it had not been destroyed, the rocket would have flown south and fallen into the Pacific Ocean, several hundred miles off the coast of California.
Lehner described the rocket as the first two stages of a Polaris missile and the third stage of an Orbis rocket.
"These are all tried and true rocket missiles," Lehner said.
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Stacey A. Fritz
Coordinator
No Nukes North
PO Box 84997
Fairbanks, AK 99708
(907) 457 - 5230
info@nonukesnorth.net
www.nonukesnorth.net