15 October 2002 - Foton M1 failure

​Soyuz-U launch vehicle exploded 29 seconds after lift-off from Plesetsk cosmodrome. The launcher was carrying the unmanned Foton M-1 research satellite, using capsules of the Foton/Bion family containing 44 experiments supported by ESA. ITC Marka prepared special postmark for the event but due to the launch failure it was never used. Some covers got this cancellation unofficially.