Posted: Sat, Oct 11, 2003, 12:15 PM ET (1615 GMT)
The explosion of a Brazilian rocket in August that killed 21 people was likely caused by an electrical discharge of some kind and not a design flaw in the vehicle itself, Brazilian and Russian investigators said Friday. Brazilian defense minister Jose Viegas said that investigators now believe that an “unknown electrical discharge” accidentally ignited one of the solid rocket motors of the VLS-1 rocket while it was sitting on the pad at the Alcantara launch site on August 22. The explosion took place while hundreds of technicians were working on the rocket to prepare it for a launch in a few days’ time; 21 were killed in the explosion. Brazil invited Russian engineers to assist in the investigation; they concluded that the explosion was not the result of a design flaw in the vehicle. Brazilian officials had hoped to conclude the investigation within 30 days of the accident, but Viegas said Friday that the investigation could take months to wrap up. Russian defense minister Sergei Ivanov, visiting Brazil, said Russian engineers would remain in Brazil as long as needed to aid the investigation.

Related Links:

•  Reuters article
•  Itar-Tass article