Russia Loses Newly Launched Telecom Satellite
Russia's space agency says it has lost contact with a communications satellite shortly after its launch.
The Express-AM4 satellite was launched early Thursday atop a Proton-M booster rocket from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The Federal Space Agency said in a statement that the booster itself worked fine, but a subsequent failure of the additional upper stage, the Briz-M, resulted in the loss of communications with the satellite.
It said efforts are being taken to re-establish contact with the 5.8-ton (6.38-ton) craft described by officials as Russia's most powerful telecommunications satellite.
The Briz-M upper stage has suffered several previous failures, most recently in February when its malfunction led to the loss of a Russian military satellite.
Source: Associated Press
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