Proton rocket crashes destroying Russia's most advanced satellite

Russia receives a heavy blow after a Proton-M rocked carrying and advanced satellite on board crashed. The rocket was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, but nine minutes after lift off lost its engines and crashed.

The rocket was carrying an Express AM4R satellite. It it would reached Earth's orbit it would have been Russia's most advanced and powerful satellite. “The exact cause is hard to establish immediately, we will be studying the telemetry. Preliminary information points to an emergency pressure drop in a steering engine if the third stage of the rocket,” said Oleg Ostapenko, head of Russian Roscosmos.

The rocket was less than a minute before reaching Earth's high orbit, when a third stage engine malfunctioned. All other Proton type rocket launches from the Baikonur space center have been canceled until the exact cause of the accident is revealed.

The Express-AM4R satellite had the mission to provide internet access in the most remote regions of Russia at affordable prices and it would have been the most advanced satellite Russia has in orbit. Russia launched earlier this year two Express satellites, the Express-AT1 and AT that are already in orbit.