Russian Proton-M Rocket Carrying Mexican Satellite Crashes in Siberia NewsMax
go to original May 16, 2015

Russian rocket carrying MexSat-1 satellite crashes (CCTV News)

A Russian rocket carrying a Mexican satellite malfunctioned and crashed Saturday in Siberia shortly after its launch — the latest mishap to hit Russia's troubled space industry, whose Soviet-era glory has been marred by a series of launch failures.

The rocket, a Proton-M, was launched from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan on Saturday morning.

Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, in a statement described the accident as a malfunction and said it was looking into what had happened. Russian news agencies quoted authorities in eastern Siberia as saying they are searching for the third stage of the rocket, which is believed to have crashed in the Zabaikalsky region that borders Mongolia and China.

There were also concerns about the tons of toxic fuel the rocket was carrying, which could have exploded at the crash site. Roscosmos would not provide any further details about the accident, including the exact site of the crash.

The Proton-M rocket has a history of mishaps, leading to the loss of three navigation satellites last year.

Read the rest at NewsMax

Related: Mexican Gov't Says No Economic Losses Caused By Lost Satellite (EFE)

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