Russia’s Proton-M rocket crashed before achieving orbit in expensive failure

Special to WorldTribune.com

Russia’s gigantic 5.8-ton Proton-M rocket carrying an expensive Ekspress-AM4R satellite crashed 9 minutes after it was launched on May 15 from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome.

A Russian Proton-M rocket with an advanced satellite on board crashed about nine minutes after lifting off on May 15.

It was only 40 seconds short of reaching the designated orbit.

The Proton rocket is one of the world’s largest launch vehicles and it has been mostly reliable in its illustrious history of hundreds of successful launches since 1965.

But in August 2011, a Proton rocket exploded at its launch pad in Baikonur Cosmodrome which the Russians had been using on a $10 million per year lease from the Kazaks.

Last week’s Proton launch failure was likely caused by the third stage’s steering engine malfunction.

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Baikonur Cosmodrome, Ekspress-AM4R satellite, Russia’s Proton-M rocket crashed before achieving orbit in expensive failure

Russia’s Proton-M rocket crashed before achieving orbit in expensive failure added by World Tribune on May 27, 2014
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