Russia has failed in its attempt to put into orbit a Hong Kong commercial satellite after the booster on its Proton launcher failed just over six hours into the flight say Russian space officials.

The 2,534kg satellite is now in an elliptical orbit, rather than its correct circular path, after an emergency separation of the satellite from the rocket.

But officials say it is too early to say whether the satellite is falling to earth; they say they hope to establish communication with it and guide it to its scheduled orbit.

The Hong Kong satellite was intended to provide digital links, including TV services, across Asia. It would have been one of the biggest satellites serving that part of the continent.

The failure has been a highly damaging incident for the Russian space programme, which only began to offer its services to foreign companies two years ago.

Russia receives something in the region of $70m for every launch, so this incident will come as an undoubted blow to its commmercial space programme.

However, Russia has deserved an enviable record for launch reliability. This was the first failure of the Proton rocket this year, following eight successful satellite launches.
 

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