European Sattellite fails to enter orbit

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The 5.25 tonne telecommunications spacecraft was marooned when the Proton K rocket carrying it malfunctioned. It had launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan late on Monday.

At its current altitude of only 175 kilometres, experts say the craft will lose altitude and break up in the Earth's atmosphere within a few days. It is unclear how much debris from the satellite might survive reentry and fall to Earth.