Six Russian satellites lost

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Six satellites launched from Plisetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia were lost on Thursday after a third-stage rocket boosting them into orbit apparently malfunctioned.

A spokeswoman for the Plisetsk Space Centre in northern Russia told Interfax news agency the satellites burned up in the atmosphere over the East Siberian Seas.

The Russian Space Agency says two booster rockets worked correctly, but the third malfunctioned after ignition.

The cause of the malfunction is under investigation, but the accident is a further embarrassment for Russia after controllers lost contact with the Mir space station earlier in the week.

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Interfax news agency says it is possible that the third-stage engine shut down, or there was a malfunction in the onboard control system.

The launch took place approximately 10 p.m. Moscow time on Wednesday.

Communication was lost around midnight. The rocket used is a Ukranian-made Cyclone-3, a military rocket adapted for commercial use.

Three of the satellites were to be used by the Russian Defence Ministry. The other three were planned to be use for low-level communications by the Space Agency.

CNN Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.

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