Russia's military announced Wednesday that a test launch of a prototype of an intercontinental missile has failed.

The ballistic missile was launched Tuesday from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia and crashed back into the launch zone. Authorities say there were no injuries or damage on the ground.

The missile was designed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology, which according to Russian news reports is the developer of Russia's Topol-M and Yars ballistic missiles.

The same institute also designed Russia's Bulava ballistic missile that experienced a series of failures until its successful launch from a nuclear submarine in June.

Earlier this year, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had announced his government planned to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons modernization by 2020.