July 22: The most expensive hyphen in history
On July 22, 1962, the Mariner 1 spacecraft was destroyed 293 seconds after launch because a single missing character broke its guidance software. Tonight's film: Tron (1982).
Cape Canaveral, Florida, July 22, 1962. An Atlas-Agena B rocket sits on the pad, and on top of it rides Mariner 1, America’s first interplanetary probe. The destination is Venus. Everything is ready, the count hits zero, it lifts off, and 293 seconds later the rocket starts drifting off course. The range safety officer refuses to gamble and orders it destroyed. The probe and the rocket come down in the Atlantic.
