http://www.interfax.ru/russia/442018(my translation)
Moscow. 16 May. Interfax.ru The launch of a Proton-M booster with a British communications satellite intended for early June has been delayed until the reason for the failure of a Proton-M on 16 May (MexSat).
Proton launches have been halted, beginning with the planned launch of the British satellite will be postponed, reported an agency representative, who noted that an investigation into the cause of today's crash may require from several weeks to several months.
Earlier today, a source in the aerospace industry reported to Interfax that an anomaly arose in the third stage of the Proton-M launched Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. "In the 498th second of flight the third stage engine had an emergency shut down," he specified.
The third stage of the booster with the Briz-M propulsion module and the MexSat satellite fell in Chita region, said the source.
The MexSat was built to the order of the Mexican ministry of communications and transportation by the American concern Boeing Satellite Systems. It was constructed on the base of the Boeing 702 NP platform and had a mass of about 4.5 tons, with relay antennas for three bands. The satellite was intended to provide communications to Mexico and the central part of South America for a minimum 15 year operational lifespan.
The Proton-M booster and the Briz-M propulsion module were built by the Moscow Khrunichev Center. The launch was carried out by the commercial launch provider International Launch Services, a Russian-American joint venture which has exclusive rights to commercial launches using the Russian Proton heavy lifter.
The Proton MexSat launch was originally scheduled on 29 April but was delayed because Boeing required additional time to test the onboard equipment. An addtional Proton-M launch has been delayed from April until at least August. Metallic dust was discovered in the plumbing of one of the stages of the booster that was intended to loft the Express-AM8 communications satellite. Correcting the technical issues of the booster required its return to Moscow.
Abnormal Situation in Space
This is the second anomaly in 24 hours that RosCosmos has had to deal with. On 16 May a correction burn planned to lift the orbit of the ISS did not take place because the engine of the Progress cargo vessel which was to be used for the burn sent anomalous readings to the on-board computer on the Russian ISS module which caused an abort burn command.