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 . 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 .
The rocket had veered off path , causing an emergency system to cut off propulsion . Comment: It burned up in the atmosphere , but some small fragments could fall to Earth .