A US spy satellite was blown to smithereens last week when its Titan
4 rocket exploded 101 seconds after launch from Vandenberg Air Force base
in California. Air force officials would not give details of the payload.
All six previous flights of the Titan 4 had been successful, but further
flights are now on hold while the air force tries to pinpoint the cause
of the mishap. The air force developed the Titan 4 in the 1980s to avoid
depending on the space shuttle, which itself was viewed as prone to disaster.
