spacetoday.net: Proton rocket crashes after liftoff

Proton rocket crashes after liftoff

Posted: Tue, Jul 2, 2013, 7:47 AM ET (1147 GMT)
Proton M launch failure on 2013 July 2

A Proton rocket carrying three GLONASS satellites crashed seconds after liftoff from Baikonur on Tuesday, the latest in a series of failures for the Russian rocket. The Proton-M lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 10:38 pm EDT Monday (0238 GMT, 8:28 am local time Tuesday) on a mission to place three GLONASS navigation satellites into orbit. However, the rocket lost control seconds after liftoff, veering to the side before crashing to the ground a short distance from the launch site. No injuries have been reported from the crash. The failure is the latest for the Proton, which has suffered several failures in recent years, typically involving problems with its upper stage.