[chris]

Bluegill Prime was intended as a high-altitude nuclear detonation test to study effects on electronics and the Earth's magnetic field.

A stuck valve restricted liquid oxygen flow to the combustion chamber. Propellant entered the thrust chamber, caught fire, and set the rocket ablaze on the launch pad.

A range safety officer ordered the rocket destroyed. The rocket and launch pad were destroyed, and radioactive debris from the nuclear core contaminated Johnston Island. No nuclear detonation occurred.