A Russian space rocket launch went sour Friday, destroying the booster and its payload, Russian state media said.
Nine minutes after the Proton-M rocket lifted off in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on Friday, officials on the ground lost contact with the it, ITAR-Tass reported, citing an official from Russia’s Federal Space Agency.
The rocket had veered off path, causing an emergency system to cut off propulsion.
The rocket, which was carrying a communications satellite into orbit, was about 100 miles high into its ascent at the time and burned up in the atmosphere, the agency reported.
But the agency also said that part of the rocket could be in a “non-intended orbit” and small pieces could fall down to Earth, CNN informs.
