- Wrong way! (Image: Vesti 24 via APTN/AP/PA)
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Rocket science can go wrong – especially, it seems, in Russia. The fiery crash of the Proton-M rocket shortly after launch on 2 July is the latest in a string of Russian space mishaps in recent years.
Suspected engine failure caused the uncrewed rocket to veer off course then flip upside down and break apart before smashing into the ground near to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It was carrying three GLONASS satellites, intended to form part of Russia's alternative to GPS navigation.
In 2010, another Proton-M rocket crashed with three GLONASS satellites on board, and in November 2011, the Phobos-Grunt probe, bound for a Martian moon, got stuck in Earth orbit before burning up on re-entry.
Earlier this year, a joint Russia-Ukraine Zenith-3SL rocket crashed shortly after an ocean-based launch.