The Nation - News from May 11, 1987

An unarmed missile that strayed off course was destroyed less than two minutes after launch from a British Royal Navy submarine that was submerged off the Florida coast near Cape Canaveral, but a second launch was successful, officials said. The destruct signal was issued after radar detected a malfunction in the unarmed Polaris missile launched from the Repulse, officials said. It was not known what caused the missile to malfunction. British submarines frequently conduct test firings along the Eastern Test Range operated by the U.S. Air Force.