Cosmos 2333 failure

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General

Designation	n/a
Launch date	14 May 1996
Country of origin	CIS
Mission	Military: reconnaissance (Kometa; 4th generation)
Launch vehicle	Soyuz U
Launch site	Tyuratam

The rocket was lost 2 minutes after launch during the burn of the first stage.

The SPIN-2 payload was onboard (US mapping project) During 45 days in low orbit this satelite would have taken photos of 1.2 million square miles of the Earth's surface for American companies. In particular, the satellite was to have taken high-resolution photographs (2 m) of the United States to fulfill a contract signed last summer by Russia's Sovinformsputnik and the U.S. Aerial Images company.

The insurer for the satellite payed $2.7 million The experts revealed that the boosters had production errors (on the nose cones and with low quality of the latches). The report said the nose cones split apart and disintegrated during launch.

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