A civilian
Dnepr rocket built from a modified intercontinental ballistic missile failed to
carry a clutch of small satellites into orbit Wednesday as it crashed just
south of its Central Asian launch site, according to Russian wire reports.
The Dnepr's
engine apparently shut down prematurely just after rocketing spaceward from its
Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad in Kazakhstan, Russian space officials told the Interfax
News Agency. The rocket was scheduled to launch at 3:43 p.m. EDT (1943 GMT)
and reach orbit a short time later.
"The first
stage failed to separate on time, it stopped working about 10 minutes earlier,
and that is why the engine shut down in emergency mode," Yury Nosenko, deputy
head of Russia's Federal Space Agency, told Interfax.
An
investigation is underway to determine the root cause of the booster's failure.
"A special
commission has been set up to investigate into the circumstances of the crash,"
Nosenko told Interfax, adding that the Dnepr rocket crashed about 15.5
miles (25 kilometers) south of its launch site. "No damages were caused to
populated localities on nearby territories."
Dnepr
rocket launches are managed by ISC Kosmotras, a joint effort between the Russian
and Ukrainian governments. The boosters are based on converted SS-18
intercontinental missiles and carry three stages to reach orbit.
Each Dnepr
booster stands about 111 feet (34 meters) tall and carries a diameter of about 10
feet (three meters).
Today's unsuccessful
launch was slated to orbit a fleet of 14 CubeSat
microsatellites built by 10 universities around the world. Additional
payloads reportedly included a pair of satellites dubbed JAEsats, as well as others
called BelKa, Baumanets and UniSat 4.
According
to one mission description, the CubeSats were destined for an orbit between 310
and 372 miles (500-600 kilometers) above Earth.
The failed
launch attempt comes two weeks after a successful
Dnepr launch from Russia's Yasny Launch Base, an active strategic missile
facility.
That July
12 liftoff carried the U.S. spacecraft Genesis-1, an inflatable module developed
by Las Vegas, Nevada's Bigelow Aerospace as a prototype for future orbital space
habitats. Genesis-1
continues to do well, relaying telemetry
and images from orbit.
A follow up
mission - Genesis-2 - was slated to fly in late 2006 or early 2007, but may be
delayed as investigators target the source of today's Dnepr launch failure.
Russia's
Interfax News
Agency contributed to this report.
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