Accident
On August 22, 2003, at 13:30 (local time) an explosion destroyed the launch vehicle as it stood on its launch pad at the Alcântara Launch Center in the state of Maranhão in northern Brazil. Twenty-one people, standing on the launch pad, died when one of the rocket's four first stage motors ignited accidentally. The explosion caused a fire in the nearby jungle brush, and produced a large cloud of smoke that was visible for large distances.
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