History: February 15 (#5)

Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

February 15, 1996 At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3B rocket carrying Intelsat 708 veers off course and crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing somewhere between six and 100 people.

Commentary

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

On February 15, in the year 1996: At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3B ro cket carrying Intelsat 708 veers off course and crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing somewhere between six and 100 people. 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.

Commentary

Source: Internal

Why February 15, 1996 matters: At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Chin a, a Long March 3B rocket carrying Intelsat 708 veers off course and crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing somewhere between six and 100 people. What began on this day left a lasting mark on history. The effects were felt immediately and continued to shape events, ideas, and lives long afterwards.

Commentary

Source: Internal

Historical context: February 15, 1996 The 20th century brought change at a pace unprecedented in history: two world wars, the rise and fall of fascism and communism, decolonisation, the Cold War, the space race, and revolutions in science, technology, and human rights all compressed into one hundred years. The event on this day: At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3B rocket carrying Intelsat 708 veers off course and crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing somewhere between six and 100 people. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelsat_708 (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)