spacetoday.net: GLONASS satellites lost in Proton launch failure

Posted: Sun, Dec 5, 2010, 12:32 PM ET (1732 GMT)
Proton launch of Glonass satellites on 2010 Dec 5 (Roskosmos)

Three GLONASS navigation satellites launched Sunday on a Proton rocket reentered the atmosphere and were lost. The Proton rocket, using a Block DM upper stage, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:25 am EST (1025 GMT) Sunday. The launch initially went as planned, with the upper stage and three satellites separating from the Proton ten minutes later. However, Russian officials said several hours later the rocket deviated from its course by up to eight degrees. The upper stage and satellites reentered the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, 1,500 kilometers northwest of Honolulu. The three GLONASS satellites would have been used to make the Russian satellite navigation system fully operational globally.