- Intelsat 708
Intelsat 708 was a
Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 telecommunications satellite intended to be launched into ageostationary orbit and operated byIntelsat . It was destroyed during a launch failure onFebruary 15 ,1996 , causing fatalities near the launch site atXichang ,People's Republic of China , and prompting political controversy in theUnited States .The Intelsat 708 satellite was built by
Space Systems/Loral and was to be launched from theXichang Satellite Launch Center site in China aboard a Long March 3B rocket. This rocket failed at launch due to an engineering defect and caused an impact in a village near the launch site, which reportedly killed an unknown number of Chinese civilians and caused other damage. The nature and extent of the damage remain a subject of dispute; the Chinese government, through its officialXinhua news agency, reported that six people were killed, while other sources claimed that the number of fatalities was likely dramatically higher.Because Intelsat 708 contained sophisticated communications and
encryption technology, and because portions of the debris were never located by the satellite's developers and may have been recovered by the government of People's Republic of China, Intelsat and theClinton administration suffered criticism in the United States for allowing a possibletechnology transfer to China. (See alsoexport controls .) These concerns prompted an investigation by theU.S. Congress . In 2002, theUnited States Department of State chargedHughes Electronics andBoeing Satellite Systems with export control violations in connection with the failed launch of Intelsat 708 and the prior failed launch of theAPSTAR II satellite.References
* (Congressional report discussing Intelsat 708 launch failure and possible technology transfer)
* (Documents on Intelsat 708 and export controls, including State Department letter charging two companies with export law violations)
* (Chinese government report disputing conclusions of U.S. Congressional report)
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOtSwQkybVw Video of launch, impact and view of destruction of town by resulting explosion.
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