Rocket Motor Explodes During Testing

An explosion at a military contractor Saturday leveled a two-story building housing a Hellfire missile and shattered about 50 windows in nearby apartments. No one was hurt.

Wyle Laboratories Inc. said the explosion happened during routine testing of a small rocket motor and that the cause was under investigation.

Employees were working on the missile but had left to get coffee when the explosion happened around 4:30 a.m., the Huntsville Fire Department said.

Wyle Laboratories, based in El Segundo, Calif., provides research, engineering, testing and support services to aerospace, defense and energy industries.