19 August 1998

A National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite was destroyed when the Titan IV/A space launch vehicle carrying it self destructed 40 seconds into launch August 12.

"Whenever we lose one of these valuable assets, it creates a void in our capabilities that poses a serious national concern and seriously effects our ability to accomplish our reconnaissance mission," said NRO spokesman Rick Oborn.

Meanwhile, the NRO is working closely with its partners and customers to compensate for the loss and still provide the space-gathered intelligence to accomplish their missions. The NRO remains committed to providing this nation with the world's best space-based reconnaissance capability and looks toward planned future increased abilities expected as new systems come on line during the next several years.

There were no injuries or property damage and the cause of the explosion is under investigation.