The engine was to have put the satellite into an orbit that would keep it stationary 22,300 miles above the Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and California, Mr. Williamson said.

Mr. Williamson said that there was no danger the satellite would crash to Earth because it would burn up in the atmosphere before reaching reaching the ground.

James Lacy, a space agency public information officer at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., for 18 years, said he could recall cases of satellite launches failing and cases of satellites failing after going into orbit. But he said that he could not remember a case of a satellite destined for a stationary orbit getting lost.

Relays Telephone and TV Signals

RCA publicity materials said the boxlike satellite was about five feet by four feet by four feet and weighed about a ton. The satellite, which has 24 channels that were to be leased to subscribers for $800 to $1.2 million each per year, was designed to relay telephone calls and to send television programs from their source to cable- and pay‐television companies. Satellite relay is less expensive than ground relay, according to RCA.

Before the launching, RCA officials said the company had paid $5.3 million for a 90‐day insurance policy on the mission. Mr. Williamson said that the mission had cost $50 million and that it had been insured for $70 million so that business that would be lost if it failed would also be covered. He said that RCA still hoped that the satellite would be found and the mission salvaged.