Several hours before the announcement in Russia, U.S. scientists at the California-based Planetary Society said they believed they had detected signals from the $4 million spacecraft and that it was in orbit.
But they said the spacecraft might have freed itself from the failing Russian booster rocket and orbited long enough to send weak signals that were apparently received by three ground stations within hours of its launch.
Sucks to lose 4mil. Why did they have to launch this from a sub?