Page "Mariner 1" Paragraph 4

What NASA's website describes as " improper operation of the Atlas airborne beacon equipment " caused the booster to lose contact with one of the guidance systems on the ground, setting the stage for an apparent software-related guidance system failure.

The role of software error in the launch failure remains somewhat mysterious in nature, shrouded in the ambiguities and conflicts among ( and in some accounts, even within ) the various accounts, official and otherwise.

It was launched by an Atlas-Agena rocket.