News from The Associated Press
▻http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_RUSSIA_ROCKET?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
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, 161 kilometers (97 miles) above the Earth. 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.
[…]
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.