[Steely Tom]

The one I was thinking of was caused by a solid rocket motor that was being tested by a crewmember. He was using a vendor-supplied test set to check continuity and electrical characteristics of an igniter squib when the propellant fired; since he was standing at the open end of the exhaust nozzle, the results were fatal.

I'm not sure what the missile type was, but I think it was a Nike.

This story was told to me by an older co-worker who worked on the test box, many years ago.

[SJSAMPLE]

Jesus, that Nike missile.
I used to launch Lance missiles off the island of Crete in the summer. It was the NAAMFI installation, and it was also used for Hawk and Nike missiles used by our allies. Great shows. Often, the Nike-Hercules would rise on it’s boosters, and when they’d cut out, it would start to fall backwards until (hopefully) the main engines cut in. That seemed like forever.