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Russian Zenit rocket with US satellite fails at launch Russian Zenit rocket with US satellite fails at launch
(35 minutes later)
By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent
A Russian rocket carrying a US-made telecommunications satellite has plunged into the Pacific Ocean shortly after launch.A Russian rocket carrying a US-made telecommunications satellite has plunged into the Pacific Ocean shortly after launch.
The Zenit-3SL rocket, which was being operated from a floating pad just south-east of the Hawaiian islands, failed 40 seconds after lift-off. The Zenit-3SL rocket, which was being operated from a floating pad south of the Hawaiian islands, failed 40 seconds after lift-off.
The Intelsat-27 satellite was due to be positioned over the Atlantic to provide services to the Americas and Europe.The Intelsat-27 satellite was due to be positioned over the Atlantic to provide services to the Americas and Europe.
Officials say no-one was hurt as a result of the incident.Officials say no-one was hurt as a result of the incident.
Staff from the Sea Launch company, which organised the launch, direct all missions from a support vessel which sits a safe distance from the platform.Staff from the Sea Launch company, which organised the launch, direct all missions from a support vessel which sits a safe distance from the platform.
The firm said it would establish a review board to determine what went wrong.The firm said it would establish a review board to determine what went wrong.
"We are very disappointed with the outcome of the launch and offer our sincere regrets to our customer, Intelsat, and their spacecraft provider, Boeing," Kjell Karlsen, president of Sea Launch AG, said in a statement."We are very disappointed with the outcome of the launch and offer our sincere regrets to our customer, Intelsat, and their spacecraft provider, Boeing," Kjell Karlsen, president of Sea Launch AG, said in a statement.
"The cause of the failure is unknown, but we are evaluating it and working closely with Intelsat, Boeing, Energia Logistics Ltd. and our Zenit-3SL suppliers. We will do everything reasonably possible to recover from this unexpected and unfortunate event." "The cause of the failure is unknown, but we are evaluating it and working closely with Intelsat, Boeing, Energia Logistics Ltd and our Zenit-3SL suppliers. We will do everything reasonably possible to recover from this unexpected and unfortunate event."
ISS link Sea Launch has not long returned from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Constructed by Boeing, the satellite was supposed to serve government and media clients in the US and Europe. A spectacular rocket failure on its converted oil rig in 2007 forced the firm to restructure its finances as orders slowed and debts mounted.
Yevgeny Lopota, the head of Russia's Energia corporation, which made the rocket, said the engine shutdown happened just 50 seconds into the flight. It re-emerged in 2011 and lofted four satellites successfully before Friday's loss.
The launch had already been delayed by 24 hours, but not for technical reasons. The rig-cum-pad and its command ship are based at Long Beach, California.
There have only been two complete failures in the 34 sea launches conducted since 1999. For a mission, the pair move south to the equator at 154 degrees West Longitude.
Correspondents say Russia's space programme is being closely watched as it currently provides the only manned link to the International Space Station (ISS), but it has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years. An equatorial launch location gives a rocket a boost from the Earth's rotation, meaning it can lift heavier payloads into orbit.
These include the failed Phobos Mars mission and the loss of a cargo ship taking supplies to the ISS, both in 2011. Sea Launch is owned now by a Russian-led consortium headed by Energia Overseas Ltd, is headquartered in Bern, Switzerland.
The market for launching geostationary telecommunications satellites is intensively competitive.
It has been dominated for several years by the European Ariane rocket, operated by Arianespace, and the Russian Proton vehicle, which is sold by International Launch Services (although the latter has experienced a number of failures of its own recently).
Once the cause of Friday's loss is identified and any necessary corrective action taken, Sea Launch will need to re-instil confidence in the market that its product is a good one.
The Ukrainian-Russian Zenit-3SL vehicle has a generally good reliability record.