Posted: Tue, Oct 15, 2002, 5:50 PM ET (2150 GMT)
A Russian Soyuz booster exploded a half-minute after liftoff late Tuesday on a mission to launch a microgravity research satellite, according to Russian media reports. The Interfax news agency reported that the Soyuz booster exploded 29 seconds after liftoff from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 2:20 pm EDT (1820 GMT). No reason for the failure was given. The Soyuz was carrying the Foton-M1 spacecraft, a microgravity research satellite carrying 44 biology, radiation, and fluid physics experiments from Russia, Europe, and other nations. The failure could have affect plans to launch a Soyuz taxi mission to the International Space Station late this month from Baikonur.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  AP article
•  Interfax report (in Russian)