AMUR OBLAST, RUSSIA ¨C Russia said it had lost contact Tuesday with a weather satellite just hours after it was launched from its Vostochny cosmodrome, in only the second rocket liftoff from the new spaceport.
The glitch is a fresh embarrassment for Russia¡¯s beleaguered space program, which has suffered a series of setbacks over recent years as Moscow seeks to ease dependence on the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
¡°During the first scheduled communication session with the space vehicle, contact has not been established because it is not on its planned orbit,¡± the Russian space agency Roscosmos said in a statement.
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