Russian rocket falls back to Earth after liftoff

A Russian rocket carrying its most advanced communication satellite to date fell back to Earth minutes after lift-off on Friday in the latest blow to the country's once-proud space industry. Space officials said the Proton's control engine failed 545 seconds after its nighttime blastoff from the Baikonur space centre Moscow leases in Kazakhstan. State television showed the carrier and its Express-AM4P satellite reported to be worth $29 million (21 million euros) burning up in the upper layers of the atmosphere above China. "We have an emergency situation," Channel One television showed a Russian flight commentator as saying, according to AFP.