Telecom satellite lost after Proton launch failure

An advanced Russian communications satellite was destroyed Thursday when its Proton rocket booster failed minutes after liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Express AM4R spacecraft, worth approximately $200 million, was supposed to begin a 15-year mission beaming radio, television, broadband Internet and telephone services across Russia and neighboring countries. But a few minutes after the 12,720-pound (5,770-kilogram) Express AM4R satellite launched from Baikonur, Russia's primary space base, its Proton rocket ran into a problem. More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 16)