Intelsat 708, a telecommunications satellite constructed by the American company Space Systems/Loral for Intelsat, was destroyed on 15 February 1996, when the Long March 3B carrier rocket failed during its launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) in China. The launch vehicle deviated from its intended trajectory shortly after liftoff and struck a hillside near the main gate of the XSLC, causing damage to buildings on the launch centre's territory and flattening Mayelin Village. The incident resulted in the deaths of at least six people; together with Apstar 2, a similar failed launch at Xichang, it is the deadliest accident of the Chinese space program. The accident investigation identified a failure in the guidance system of the Long March 3B. After the Intelsat 708 accident, the Long March rockets did not experience another mission failure until 2011. However, the participation of American companies in the Intelsat 708 and Apstar 2 investigations caused political controversy in the United States. A U.S. government investigation found that the information in the accident investigation report had been illegally transferred to China. Satellite technology was subsequently reclassified as a munition and placed under ITAR restrictions, blocking its export to China. In 2002, Space Systems/Loral paid US$20 million to settle charges of violating export controls.
Background After the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the US Government decided that commercial satellite payloads would not be launched on Space Shuttles, forcing satellite producers to use expendable rocket systems instead. At that time, China also began its entry into the international space market. In 1992 and 1993, Space Systems/Loral received licenses from the United States Department of State to launch Intelsat satellites on Chinese rockets. At that time, satellite components were still under International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR); they would be transferred in stages to the U.S. Department of Commerce between 1992 and 1996. The Intelsat 708 satellite was to be launched into geostationary orbit aboard a Long March 3B launch vehicle. It was also the maiden flight of the vehicle. On 21 December 1992, the Optus-B2 satellite was launched into orbit aboard a Long March 2E rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC). 45 seconds after liftoff, the rocket's fairing with the payload inside had collapsed, damaging the satellite. However, the damaged satellite debris was still transported into orbit, and tracking stations managed to receive signals from the spacecraft after several days. On 26 January 1995, the Apstar 2 satellite was launched from the XSLC on board a Long March 2E launch vehicle. After flying for 51 seconds, the vehicle suddenly erupted into flames and exploded, the debris falling on nearby villages. Chinese officials stated that as the result of the failure, 6 villagers died and 23 were injured. It was later found that the cause of the failure was the payload fairing collapsing mid-flight due to structural deficiency. Chinese officials, however, blamed the satellite for the failure. After the incident, Intelsat and SSL officials forbade employees from observing launches from the roof of the hotel building, a decision that may have prevented further fatalities. Mayelin village was created in the 1950s. The village bordered the launch center's main gate. In 1980 it was abolished for unknown reasons, however the village was later reestablished. At the moment of the Intelsat 708 launch, approximately 1000 or fewer people may have lived in the village. Mayelin village was mostly populated by the Yi people and local farmers. The village was located between the launch center's main gate and the nearby town of Mayelin (commonly mistaken with the village). Villages close to XSLC had been evacuated since the early 1980s according to the Chinese government.
Launch and the subsequent failure The launch was planned for 02:51 on 15 February 1996 (18:01 the preceding day UTC), before being moved to 03:00 as this was seen to be a "luckier" number. The launch window opened at 02:51 and the countdown began around 02:56. The launch was being broadcast on CCTV-1 in China and the live feed from the launch pad was being transmitted to the headquarters of Space Systems/Loral. Lift-off occurred at 03:01:07, and only two seconds later the rocket unexpectedly began to incline toward the east. The rocket flew over the umbilical tower and started turning horizontal in the air while flying towards the residential area of XSLC. 22 seconds later, the rocket was remotely detonated; seconds later, it hit a hillside and its propellant ignited into a massive explosion. The shockwave of the explosion destroyed windows in nearby buildings and in the Technical Center of XSLC, where American engineers were observing the launch. The Americans were kept inside a warehouse in the Technical Center, with the air conditioning turned off and safety equipment given to them, until 06:00, when a bus arrived at the Technical Center to take the engineers back to Xichang. The incident resulted in the deaths of at least six people.
Aftermath
American engineers that were still at XSLC were gathered up and tasked with collecting satellite debris that was scattered all around the area after the blast, for it to be shipped back to the US and to prevent the Chinese from collecting sensitive components. It was later determined that encryption devices were not recovered from the crash site. However the satellite was surprisingly intact even after the explosion. The nature and extent of the damage still remain a subject of dispute. The Chinese government, through its official Xinhua news agency, reported that six people were killed and 57 injured. Western media speculated that between a few dozen and 500 people might have been killed in the crash; "dozens, if not hundreds" of people were seen to gather outside the center's main gate near the crash site the night before launch. Western media also backed this claim up with recordings taken after the crash showcasing the nearby village that had almost been completely destroyed by the explosion. A 2003 CCTV documentary on the Chinese space program named "Shaking the Heavens" stated that 7 people died, while a 2012 documentary on the 50 launches of the Long March 3A included a statement made by Liang Xiaohong, the party head of CALT:
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