By JERUSALEM POST STAFFAn unmanned Russian rocket carrying a Japanese communications satellite malfunctioned after liftoff Thursday, sending parts crashing to Earth in Kazakhstan and triggering concerns about environmental damage.
Nobody was hurt, but the accident was also a potential blow to Russia's program for commercial satellite launches.
The Proton-M rocket failed to put the JCSAT-11 satellite into orbit because of a problem during operation of the second stage, the U.S.-based American-Russian joint venture International Launch Services said.
The rocket failed 139 seconds after its launch from the Russian-rented Baikonur facility in Kazakhstan, and its second and third stages veered from the planned trajectory at an altitude of 74 kilometers, said Alexander Vorobyov, a spokesman for the Russian space agency Roskosmos.RECOMMENDED STORIESIsrael Navy attacks Houthis for first time in Hodeidah Port strikeJUNE 10, 2025Russia to construct eight nuclear power plants in IranJUNE 9, 2025Greta Thunberg among voluntarily deported activists, eight remain in detentionJUNE 10, 2025Jewish woman reveals plot to poison Israelis at Boom Festival in PortugalJUNE 9, 2025