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New Video: Russian rocket explodes seconds after liftoff

Posted at 7:25 AM, Jul 02, 2013
and last updated 2013-07-02 14:50:02-04

(CNN) – An unmanned Russian rocket veered off course and exploded in a fireball Tuesday, seconds after liftoff from a launch pad in Kazakhstan.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Proton-M rocket was carrying three satellites for Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System, or Glonass, reported the RIA Novosti news agency.

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Glonass is the Russian equivalent to the United States’ Global Positioning System, or GPS.

The rocket had just taken off from the Baikonur space center, in a launch broadcast live on television.

Seconds later, it changed course, burst into flames and dove nose-first into the ground.

In 2010, another Proton-M rocket carrying three satellites crashed in the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities have suspended further launches of the rockets as they investigate what caused the explosion.