Blow to Russian space programme as satellite fails to enter orbit after launch
A Russian weather satellite has failed to enter a designated orbit after its launch, the national space agency said, in another blow to the nation's space programme.
Roscosmos said it had failed to establish communications with the Meteor M 2-1 satellite, launched on a Soyuz-2 booster rocket from Russia's new Vostochny launch pad in the Far East.
The agency said it is trying to determine what happened.
Russian news agencies reported the probable cause was the failure of the booster's final stage, the Fregat.
The booster also carried 18 micro satellites built in Canada, Germany, Japan, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the US.
The glitch follows other failed launches in recent years that tarnished the reputation of Russian space industries.
Some of the glitches were traced to manufacturing flaws.
