[telecom] 2 telecom satellites destroyed in botched Russian launch

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Loss estimated at $100 million to $150 million; future of program put in doubt

Reuters

updated 8/7/2012

MOSCOW - Russia failed to launch two multimillion-dollar satellites that were to have provided Indonesia and Russia with telecom services, casting new doubt on a once-pioneering space industry.

Russia's space agency said the failure of the upper stage of the launch atop its workhorse Proton rocket led to the loss of Indonesia's Telkom-3 and Russia's Express MD2 satellites.

The error happened after takeoff from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan late on Monday. The total loss of the two satellites was estimated at $100 million to $150 million, a space industry source told Interfax news agency.

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