Russia Loses Control Over Rocket, Satellite

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ground control lost contact with a Russian Proton carrier-rocket launched Wednesday from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, a space official said.

A spokesman for the Khrunichev Space Center said the Proton-K booster that was supposed to put in orbit a communications satellite slipped out of control at an intermediary orbit but said he had no further details.

It was not immediately clear whether any parts of Proton would crash back on Earth and whether there was still unused fuel on board.

A similar Russian Proton rocket failed at launch from the Baikonur in July, crashing on a remote village and prompting Kazakh authorities to temporarily ban all launches. They resumed in September.