DMSP-2A F2 (P35-4 - OPS 1298)

Launch data:

Spacecraft data:

Mission details:

• An investigation after the failure revealed that the Range Safety Officer (RSO) turned off the Command Destruct (CD) transmitter when the Range was pronounced "Clear" from any debris that might result from a catastrophic malfunction. What the RSO failed to consider was that with the CD transmitter turned off, the Scout receiver, equipped with an automatic gain control onboard the rocket, began searching for the next strongest signal.
• The next strongest signal turned out to be a radio station broadcasting music in the Los Angeles Basin. Based on the investigation, when a male vocalist enunciated the consonant "p" the receiver interpreted it as the coded destruct signal.