Somebody is grotesquely wrong. Globalstar has pulled the video replays. Just so Bloomberg can't pull their story here it is! Including copyright, but I'll make an exception this time as the purpose is the proof of the story before they disappear the damn thing too!
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Moscow, Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- The launch of 12 GlobalStar Telecommunications Ltd. satellites for a global telecommunications system failed when the rocket carrying the satellites crashed, a Russian Space Agency spokesman said.
The engine of the Ukrainian Zenit-2 rocket failed during take-off from Baikonur in Kazakhstan at 12:29 a.m. Moscow time, said Vyacheslav Mikhailychenko, spokesman for the Russian Space Agency. He refused to comment on the reason for the failed launch. ''The launch was not successful,'' he said. ''The rocket, carrying twelve satellites, fell to the ground and all the equipment was destroyed.''
The largely untested global, satellite-based phone and data communication systems, which cost $3 billion to $5 billion apiece to build, are vulnerable to technical difficulties and launch failures. The launch would have increased the number of Globalstar satellites in orbit to 20.
New York-based Globalstar plans to launch 36 satellites this year, out of a total 56, on board three Zenit launchers in September, October, and December.
Globalstar launched its first satellites in February 1998 and now has eight in orbit and expects to initiate commercial service in mid-1999.
Iridium LLC, a joint venture led by Motorola Inc., and Globalstar are competing to become the first company to provide a worldwide satellite-based telephone service.
Boeing Co., the world's biggest aerospace company, said a Delta II rocket carrying five Iridium satellites was launched successfully Tuesday.
Iridium is postponing charging customers for commercial phone service until Nov. 1, and instead will offer service free of charge to a limited number of users as of Sept. 23, its initial startup date. It plans to take an extra month to make hundreds of thousands of more test calls to check quality.
Iridium's launch was postponed last month as Boeing investigated the explosion of a Delta III rocket. One of Boeing's unmanned rockets exploded after takeoff destroying a PanAmSat Corp. satellite. Two Iridium satellites failed in July.
A Zenit launch ended in failure in May 1997. Ten previous Zenit launches were successful.
Globalstar shares rose 1/2 to 17 7/8 yesterday. Iridium rose 1/8 to 34 1/2.
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