The Soyuz-U booster rocket is one of the most reliable Russian spacecraft, the official said. "We haven't had an accident for 11 years with this Soyuz booster rocket," he said.
Submitted by Arthur - N1ORC

Oct. 15, 2002, 5:59PM

Unmanned Russian rocket explodes after launch

MOSCOW - An unmanned Soyuz-U rocket carrying a space laboratory exploded 29 seconds after take-off from Russia's Arctic Plesetsk cosmodrome on Tuesday, a mission control official said.

The rocket was launched at 10:20 p.m.(1820 GMT) and all contact was lost, the official said.

The Soyuz-U booster rocket is one of the most reliable Russian spacecraft, the official said.

"We haven't had an accident for 11 years with this Soyuz booster rocket," he said.

The launch on Tuesday was not connected with the operations of the International Space Station.