Ukrainian rocket explodes after liftoff (09/13/98)

Ukrainian rocket explodes after liftoff

KYIV - As The Weekly was going to press, news agencies in Ukraine reported that a Ukrainian-made Zenit 2 rocket launched just after midnight on September 10 from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakstan exploded after liftoff and crashed to the ground.

The rocket was carrying 12 commercial satellites owned by the international consortium Globalstar Telecommuni-cations Ltd. Additional launches, which were scheduled for October and December, are expected to proceed, but perhaps will be delayed.

Russian aerospace officials, who run the Baikonur facility, informed Ukrainian officials about the incident. The cause of the explosion was not known at press time.

Zenit rockets are made in Dnipro-petrovsk.

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