US Delays Launch over Canadian Safety Concerns

From DefenseNews

U.S. Delays Missile Launch over Canadian Safety Concerns

By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, OTTAWA

The United States has agreed to delay a missile launch planned for next week after Canada voiced concerns that rocket debris could fall on offshore oil platforms, Defense Minister Bill Graham said April 7.

The U.S. Defense Department’s decision was taken after Newfoundland Prime Minister Danny Williams ordered the evacuation of hundreds of oil workers in his Atlantic coast province ahead of the launch, planned for April 11.

Canada “strongly urged” the United States to postpone the launch due to concerns that debris from the Titan IV rocket, which was to be launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., would fall on the platforms.

Propeller debris was expected to fall 27 kilometers (17 miles) from the Hibernia oil platform used by a consortium that includes ExxonMobil Canada, Chevron Canada Resources and Petro-Canada. The platform is 350 kilometers (217 miles) southeast of Newfoundland.

The delay will allow the United States “to calculate a new trajectory, or whatever else they’re going to do,” Graham told reporters.

[Ahem ! A little close to home with those toy rockets, boys. ]