Report: Russian space rocket breaks apart after launch

Ben Brumfield, CNN
Updated 10:14 AM EDT, Fri May 16, 2014

Story highlights

The rocket had veered off path, causing an emergency system to cut off propulsion

It was carrying a communications satellite into orbit and was about 100 miles high

It burned up in the atmosphere, but some small fragments could fall to Earth

(CNN) —  

A Russian space rocket launch went sour Friday, destroying the booster and its payload, Russian state media said.

Nine minutes after the Proton-M rocket lifted off in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on Friday, officials on the ground lost contact with the it, ITAR-Tass reported, citing an official from Russia’s Federal Space Agency.

The rocket had veered off path, causing an emergency system to cut off propulsion.

The rocket, which was carrying a communications satellite into orbit, was about 100 miles high into its ascent at the time and burned up in the atmosphere, the agency reported.

But the agency also said that part of the rocket could be in a “non-intended orbit” and small pieces could fall down to Earth.

On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission put the first humans on the moon. Neil Armstrong famously commemorated his first steps on the moon by saying, "That
Photos: Famous firsts in space
On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission put the first humans on the moon. Neil Armstrong famously commemorated his first steps on the moon by saying, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
PHOTO: SSPL/Getty
Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Armstrong
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Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Armstrong's fellow astronaut on Apollo 11, salutes the U.S. flag on the lunar surface. Aldrin followed Armstrong and became the second man to walk on the moon on July 21, 1969.
PHOTO: NASA/AFP/Getty Images
This is the first photograph of Earth
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This is the first photograph of Earth's south polar ice cap. It was taken by the crew of Apollo 17 as the astronauts traveled to the moon in December 1972.
PHOTO: nasa
The Soviet Union launched the Space Age and the space race with the successful launch of Sputnik I, the world
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The Soviet Union launched the Space Age and the space race with the successful launch of Sputnik I, the world's first satellite, on October 4, 1957. It orbited the Earth every 98 minutes.
PHOTO: NASA
Laika the dog is pictured aboard Sputnik II on November 13, 1957. She was the first animal to orbit the Earth. She did not survive her trip, but the mission provided valuable data that paved the way for the first human in space.
Photos: Famous firsts in space
Laika the dog is pictured aboard Sputnik II on November 13, 1957. She was the first animal to orbit the Earth. She did not survive her trip, but the mission provided valuable data that paved the way for the first human in space.
PHOTO: OFF/AFP/Getty Images
Soviet pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made history as the first human to fly into space. On April 12, 1961, Gagarin took off in the Vostok 1, orbited the Earth and parachuted back to firm ground.
Photos: Famous firsts in space
Soviet pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made history as the first human to fly into space. On April 12, 1961, Gagarin took off in the Vostok 1, orbited the Earth and parachuted back to firm ground.
PHOTO: AFP/Getty Images
Less than a month after Gagarin
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Less than a month after Gagarin's trip, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into space. On May 5, 1961, Shepard piloted Freedom 7, the first manned Mercury program mission, in a suborbital flight that lasted a little more than 15 minutes.
PHOTO: NASA
John Glenn, aboard the Friendship 7, became the first American to orbit the planet on February 20, 1962. He also set a record as the oldest astronaut in space when, at the age of 77, he went on a mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in November 1996.
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John Glenn, aboard the Friendship 7, became the first American to orbit the planet on February 20, 1962. He also set a record as the oldest astronaut in space when, at the age of 77, he went on a mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in November 1996.
PHOTO: NASA
Valentina Tereshkova, seen here with Gagarin, piloted the Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963, becoming the first woman to fly into space.
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Valentina Tereshkova, seen here with Gagarin, piloted the Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963, becoming the first woman to fly into space.
PHOTO: AFP/Getty Images
Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov died during his second flight when the Soyuz 1 spacecraft crashed during its return to Earth on April 23, 1967. He was the first human to die during a space mission.
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Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov died during his second flight when the Soyuz 1 spacecraft crashed during its return to Earth on April 23, 1967. He was the first human to die during a space mission.
PHOTO: AFP/Getty Images
Skylab, the United States
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Skylab, the United States' first space station, orbited Earth from 1973 to 1979. The Soviet program had launched their first space station, Salyut, in 1971, and it stayed in space for 15 years.
PHOTO: AFP/Getty Images
On July 15, 1975, Cold War adversaries temporarily broke the thaw when the United States and the Soviet Union embarked on their first joint space mission. Russia
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On July 15, 1975, Cold War adversaries temporarily broke the thaw when the United States and the Soviet Union embarked on their first joint space mission. Russia's Soyuz craft launched seven hours before the U.S. Apollo craft, and the two vehicles linked up 52 hours after Soyuz lifted off. Here, the two crews pose for a portrait.
PHOTO: NASA
At left is Alexei Leonov, commander of the Soviet crew of Soyuz 19, shaking hands with Thomas Stafford, commander of the American crew of Apollo 18, on July 17, 1975. This would be the last Apollo mission conducted by NASA.
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At left is Alexei Leonov, commander of the Soviet crew of Soyuz 19, shaking hands with Thomas Stafford, commander of the American crew of Apollo 18, on July 17, 1975. This would be the last Apollo mission conducted by NASA.
PHOTO: AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Gen. Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez, center, looks at a homemade rocket in Havana, Cuba, in 2009. Mendez became the first Latin American, the first person of African descent and the first Cuban to fly in space when he flew aboard the Soviet Soyuz 38 on September 18, 1980.
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Gen. Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez, center, looks at a homemade rocket in Havana, Cuba, in 2009. Mendez became the first Latin American, the first person of African descent and the first Cuban to fly in space when he flew aboard the Soviet Soyuz 38 on September 18, 1980.
PHOTO: ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images
Taking off on April 12, 1981, Columbia made the first orbital flight of NASA
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Taking off on April 12, 1981, Columbia made the first orbital flight of NASA's space shuttle program. Here, crew members John Watts Young, left, and Robert Laurel Crippen hold a model of the orbiter in 1979.
Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into space when she was part of a crew aboard the space shuttle Challenger in June 1983.
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Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into space when she was part of a crew aboard the space shuttle Challenger in June 1983.
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Guion "Guy" Bluford was the first African-American to go into space. He was a mission specialist on the space shuttle challenger in 1983.
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Guion "Guy" Bluford was the first African-American to go into space. He was a mission specialist on the space shuttle challenger in 1983.
PHOTO: NASA
In February 1984, astronaut Bruce McCandless became the first astronaut to float in space untethered, thanks to a jetpack-like device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit. The units are no longer used, but astronauts now wear a similar backpack device in case of emergency.
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In February 1984, astronaut Bruce McCandless became the first astronaut to float in space untethered, thanks to a jetpack-like device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit. The units are no longer used, but astronauts now wear a similar backpack device in case of emergency.
PHOTO: NASA
Jan Davis and Mark Lee were the first couple to go into space together when the husband and wife were astronauts on the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
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Jan Davis and Mark Lee were the first couple to go into space together when the husband and wife were astronauts on the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
PHOTO: NASA
The private company SpaceX sent an unmanned capsule with supplies to the International Space Station on October 7, 2012. It was the first commercial space mission and the first of a dozen commercial cargo flights under a contract with NASA.
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The private company SpaceX sent an unmanned capsule with supplies to the International Space Station on October 7, 2012. It was the first commercial space mission and the first of a dozen commercial cargo flights under a contract with NASA.
PHOTO: NASA
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New close-up images of a region near Pluto's equator were released by NASA on Wednesday, July 15. Its New Horizons spacecraft was launched in 2006 and traveled 3 billion miles to the dwarf planet. It's the first spacecraft to explore Pluto and its moons. The mission completes the reconnaissance of the classical solar system, and it makes the United States the first nation to send a space probe to every planet from Mercury to Pluto.
PHOTO: NASA

Friday’s mishap marks the second time a Proton rocket has destructed after liftoff within a year and is one in a series of failures.

In July, an unmanned Proton rocket exploded after liftoff over Kazakhstan.

In 2010, another Proton-M rocket carrying three satellites crashed in the Pacific Ocean.

And in 1999, a Proton rocket exploded six minutes after liftoff, destroying the rocket and its payload.

The Russian Federation is known for its active space program; it carried out more than 30 space launches last year, according to a Russian media report.

It was a Russian Proton rocket that placed the first piece of the International Space Station, the Zarya module, into orbit in 1998.