On July 22, 1962, Mariner 1 was destroyed 293 seconds after launch because a single missing symbol in its guidance code — a mark smaller than a grain of rice — sent the rocket chasing phantom course corrections. Arthur C. Clarke called it the most expensive hyphen in history.
On July 22, 1962, an Atlas-Agena rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying a spacecraft bound for Venus. Two hundred and ninety-three seconds later, a range safety officer sent the destruct command. The rocket, and the probe strapped to its nose... [8917 chars]