Russia has lost contact with a crucial satellite just hours after it was launched into space, reports say.
The rocket carrying the satellite was only the second launch from the Vostochny spaceport, a project that has been hailed as a major part of Russia's plans for space exploration.
The satellite had also been an important part of the Russian space agency's plans. The Meteor M2-1 weather satellite was launched with the hope of a five-year mission to monitor weather and the climate on behalf of the country's meteorological agency.
The Meteor M2-1 was supposed to detach from the rocket carrying it this morning, soon after it launched. But it failed to do so, according to Russian news service Interfax, and the space agency has now lost contact with it.
Roscosmos said the satellite had not reached its designated orbit and that it could not make contact with it. Roscosmos experts were analysing the situation, it said in a statement.
The new Vostochny spaceport is part of a move by Russia to take launches away from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome and into the country's far east. But it has been marred by delays and problems, and has only managed two launches so far.
