Ogden Standard Examiner
The failure of the first Athena missile firing from Green River, Utah, Feb. 10 was blamed today on a short circuit in the complex wiring system only five seconds after blastoff. Col. Richard Parker, Athena program director at the Air Force Ballistics Systems Division here, gave this version of what happened: "Some five seconds after lift off, an electrical short circuit in a junction box caused premature ejection of nose cone and payload. "The resultant loss of wiring prevented separation of the first stage prior to igiiition of the second stage motor. "As a result, separation was achieved only when the second stage motor ignited on command, blasting off the stabilizing finns and causing the vehicle to veer off course." The missile payload had been scheduled to land 470 miles away at the White Sands, N.M. missile range. But it came down instead about 20 miles southeast of Durango, Colo.