A Russian Proton-M rocket crashed on Tuesday, bursting into flames just seconds after its launch, according to reports.
The rocket was carrying three Glonass satellites when it reportedly went off course at the Kazakhstan's Baikonur space center. It was launched at 8:38 a.m. local time, and broadcasted live by Rossiya-24 television channel.
The flight lasted a total of 17 seconds.
"There was an accident during the Proton-M launch. The rocket fell and exploded on the territory of the launch site," a spokesman for Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said, according to RIA Novost.
The recent crash marks the space center's second unsuccessful launch of a Proton-M carrier rocket in the last three years, and is reportedly anoter setback for Moscow's space program.
There are no reported casualties, but the crash reportedly generated poisonous fumes from rocket's burning fuel and may potentially spread to the local area. Personnel at the space center were evacuated, according to reports.
"There was 600 tons of highly toxic heptyl, amyl and kerosene rocket fuels on board," Talgat Musabaev, the head of Kazakhstan's space agency, told RIA Novost.
"Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered a governmental commission to be formed to look into the causes of the crash and present a list of officials responsible for the accident," said his press secretary, Natalya Timakova.
Kazakhstan's Emergencies Ministry said the crash could be due to an "instantaneous failure of the rocket's first-stage engine was to blame," according to RIA Novost.
"Medvedev also instructed Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin to draw up a list of measures to tighten oversight of the space sector and prevent such accidents in the future," Timakova said.
Khrunichev representative Alexander Bobrenyov told RIA Novost other Proton-M rocket launches are suspended until the commission completes its investigations, and a new schedule will be made.
Check out the video below to see the failed rocket launch.
