Intelsat 708 was a telecommunications satellite built by the American company Space Systems/Loral for Intelsat. It was destroyed on 15 February 1996 when the Long March 3B launch vehicle failed while being launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China. The launch vehicle veered off course immediately after liftoff and struck a hillside, right near the main gate of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, damaging buildings on the territory of the launch center and flattening the Mayelin Village, killing at least six people.
The accident investigation identified a failure in the guidance system of the Long March 3B. After the Intelsat 708 accident, the Long March rockets did not experience another mission failure until 2011. However, the participation of American companies in the Intelsat 708 and Apstar 2 investigations caused political controversy in the United States. A U.S. government investigation found that the information in the report had been illegally transferred to China. Satellite technology was subsequently reclassified as a munition and placed under ITAR restrictions, blocking its export to China. In 2002, Space Systems/Loral paid US$20 million to settle charges of violating export controls.
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