A Soyuz-U-PVB carrying the Yantar-1KFT No. 18 military reconnaissance satellite failed when its payload fairing broke apart about 49 seconds after launch from Baikonur, destroying the satellite. A manufacturing defect in the fairing batch was later blamed for this and a similar Yantar failure weeks later.
- Outcome
- Failure
- Orbit
- LEO
- Low Earth orbit
- Payload to orbit
- Did not reach orbit
- Flight
- 619th
- of 714 Soyuz U flights
- Date and time
- 14 May 1996, 08:55 UTC
- Rocket
- Soyuz U
- Builder
- Progress RSC
- Launch site
- 31/6, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
- Payload
- Government/Top Secret
- Launches in 1996
- 31st of 77