Another Launch Failure in Russia
As reported in this mornings' Australian papers:-
Satellite destroyed after launch
October 9, 2005 - 6:49AM
A European Space Agency satellite that was to have gathered data on polar ice has broken up in flight and its remnants have crashed into the ocean, a Russian space agency official said.
"The booster unit did not switch on and it resulted in the failure of the satellite to reach orbit," he said.
The satellite, which was launched aboard a converted intercontinental ballistic missile, was supposed to have spent three years surveying polar ice to help scientists gain a new understanding of global warming.
The Age/AAP
These converted ballistic missiles are generating an impressive failure rate - specifically for the add-on orbit injection stage which was not part of the original function.