ChuckD

Comments by ChuckD

San Diego’s Secret Missile-Testing Sites

I worked on the Atlas program from its beginning in the mid-50's. I witnessed many test firings at the Sycamore Canyon sites. The most memorable was on a Mother's Day Sunday when a fully fueled Atlas blew up a few seconds after the engines ignited. The fireball was huge. A UT account the next day included an interview with a private pilot who happened to be flying over the facility when the accident happened. His description was very interesting. No one was hurt, but an adjacent Centaur upper stage test tower was damaged. Needless to say, everything above ground at the Atlas site was demolished. A small brush fire was contained. I know that Santee residents of the time will remember hearing the roar of the Atlas engines, and some must have heard that Mother's Day boom. Those were exciting days
— April 7, 2008 6:40 a.m.