Rand Simberg has more info: Explosion In Mojave – Transterrestrial I got one message saying that several Northrop Grumman visitors were at the airport today. The explosion might have instead involved a handling problem with the system during the setup for the test. For example, I’ve not seen anything yet with regard to whether there was a firing in progress at the time. Until the survivors recount exactly what was going on at the time of the accident, I wouldn’t take these initial reports too seriously. From the pictures the site looks really devastated. The reports so far indicate the explosion involved a nitrous oxide tank. My sympathies go out to the families of those killed. There are also economically important silver, tungsten, gold, and iron deposits.I was out for the evening and didn’t get the bad news until we returned a little while ago. Sand and gravel basins drain to central salt flats from which borax, potash, and salt are extracted. The Mojave has a typical mountain-and-basin topography, and its sparse vegetation includes creosote bush ( Larrea tridentata), Joshua tree ( Yucca brevifolia), burroweed ( Isocoma tenuisecta), and occasional cacti (mostly species of Cholla). Near the undefined Great Basin–Mojave border lies Death Valley (now a national park), the lowest point in North America. Its desert climate is characterized by extreme variation in daily temperature, with frequent winter frosts, and an average annual precipitation of 2 to 6 inches (50 to 150 mm). It abuts the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains in the southwest. The Mojave extends from the Sierra Nevada range to the Colorado Plateau and merges with the Great Basin to the north and the Sonoran Desert to the south and southeast. The Mojave Desert occupies more than 25,000 square miles (65,000 square km) and joins the Sonoran, Great Basin, and Chihuahuan deserts in forming the North American Desert. Mojave Desert, arid region of southeastern California and portions of Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, U.S. Mojave Desert Jeremy Woodhouse/Getty Images
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