Russian rocket carrying Mexican satellite fails after launch

A Russian rocket carrying a Mexican satellite malfunctioned Saturday shortly after its launch — the latest mishap to hit Russia’s troubled space industry, whose Soviet-era glory has been tarnished by a series of launch failures. The rocket, a Proton-M, was launched from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan. Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, said a problem involving steering engines occurred in the rocket’s third stage about eight minutes into its flight. The agency said the rocket and Boeing-constructed satellite did not reach their planned orbit and almost all of the debris from the two burned up in the atmosphere.

It seems that the Russian space industry is disintegrating with cosmic speed.

Yuri Karash, a leading space scientist and member of the Russian Academy of Space Science, told the Interfax news agency

A search for possible debris was conducted in the Zabaikalsky region of eastern Siberia bordering Mongolia and China after people there reported hearing loud claps at the time of the launch. The federal agency leading the search said no debris had yet been found. The last failed launch of a Proton-M occurred exactly a year ago, also caused by a problem in the rocket’s third stage. Since then, there have been six successful flights. Russia’s space program has seen a string of launch failures in recent years. Space experts say the program has been hampered by a brain drain and a steady erosion of engineering and quality standards.

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