RSVM 40 (RVSN-40?)

Launch data:

Mission details:

• The RVSN-40 satellite and its Rokot launch vehicle were destroyed in an accident at Plesetsk on Dec 24, 1999. RVSN-40 was a small satellite to test spaceborne GLONASS (Russian GPS) receivers and new minisat systems. The Rokot launch vehicle, based on the Krunichev UR-100NUTTKh missile with a 14S12 Briz-K upper stage, would have made its second orbital flight. According to the story, the Rokot was undergoing tests when its stage separation systems all fired, sending the upper stage and payload flying out of the silo.