Proton Crashes with three Glonass satellites

Three Russian navigation satellites crashed into the Pacific off the US state of Hawaii Sunday after the Proton rocket carrying them failed to reach orbit, officials from the Russian space agency told The Moscow Times.

The capsule carrying the three Glonass satellites plummeted into the sea 1,500 kilometres (900 miles) off Honolulu, one official told Russia's RIA-Novosty news agency, adding that there had been no casualties.

The failure is a setback for Russia's attempt to put a satellite navigation system in place to rival the United States's GPS (Global Positioning System) and steal a march on Europe's fledgling Galileo system and the Chinese COMPASS. The Voice of Russia reports that the loss will not hinder the development of the Glonass navigation system.