diff --git a/packages/ocap-kernel/CHANGELOG.md b/packages/ocap-kernel/CHANGELOG.md
index 6b7583524..de6c99c0e 100644
--- a/packages/ocap-kernel/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/packages/ocap-kernel/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Changed
 
+- Attribute a failed subcluster vat launch to the specific vat by kernel id and `ClusterConfig` name (e.g. `Failed to launch vat v3 (bob)`), preserving the original error as the `cause` ([#975](https://github.com/MetaMask/ocap-kernel/pull/975))
 - **BREAKING:** Remove `VatConfig.platformConfig.fetch` — migrate to `globals: ['fetch', ...]` + `network.allowedHosts` ([#942](https://github.com/MetaMask/ocap-kernel/pull/942))
 - **BREAKING:** `MakeAllowedGlobals` now takes a `{ logger }` options bag ([#942](https://github.com/MetaMask/ocap-kernel/pull/942))
 - **BREAKING:** Type `VatConfig.globals` and `Kernel.make`'s `allowedGlobalNames` as `AllowedGlobalName[]` (a literal union) instead of `string[]`; unknown names are now rejected at the `initVat` RPC boundary ([#941](https://github.com/MetaMask/ocap-kernel/pull/941))
diff --git a/packages/ocap-kernel/src/vats/SubclusterManager.test.ts b/packages/ocap-kernel/src/vats/SubclusterManager.test.ts
index 165da7fb3..1ccd0eb50 100644
--- a/packages/ocap-kernel/src/vats/SubclusterManager.test.ts
+++ b/packages/ocap-kernel/src/vats/SubclusterManager.test.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import type { Mocked } from 'vitest';
 import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
 
 import type { KernelQueue } from '../KernelQueue.ts';
+import { kser } from '../liveslots/kernel-marshal.ts';
 import type { KernelStore } from '../store/index.ts';
 import type {
   VatId,
@@ -431,6 +432,51 @@ describe('SubclusterManager', () => {
         bootstrapResult,
       });
     });
+
+    // Regression tests for #572 / #564. Previously, a vat that failed to build
+    // its root object caused `#launchVatsForSubcluster` to leak an unhandled
+    // rejection surfacing as a cryptic run-queue error, e.g.
+    // `SES_UNHANDLED_REJECTION: no record matching key 'queue.run.3'`. The
+    // bootstrap subroutines must now reject cleanly and roll back the
+    // subcluster instead.
+    describe('bootstrap failure propagation (#572)', () => {
+      it('rejects with the underlying error when the bootstrap message rejects', async () => {
+        const config = createMockClusterConfig();
+        // A vat failing to build its root object surfaces as the bootstrap
+        // delivery rejecting (Kernel.queueMessage deserializes the vat's
+        // CapData rejection into a plain Error before it reaches us).
+        (mockQueueMessage as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockRejectedValue(
+          new Error('vat failed to build root object'),
+        );
+
+        await expect(
+          subclusterManager.launchSubcluster(config),
+        ).rejects.toThrow('vat failed to build root object');
+
+        // Not the old cryptic run-queue message.
+        await expect(
+          subclusterManager.launchSubcluster(config),
+        ).rejects.not.toThrow('no record matching key');
+
+        // The subcluster is rolled back rather than left half-initialized.
+        expect(mockKernelStore.deleteSubcluster).toHaveBeenCalledWith('s1');
+      });
+
+      it('rethrows when the bootstrap message resolves to a serialized error', async () => {
+        const config = createMockClusterConfig();
+        // A serialized Error result (as a vat returns on a failed bootstrap)
+        // round-trips through kunser to an Error instance and is rethrown.
+        (mockQueueMessage as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockResolvedValue(
+          kser(new Error('bootstrap threw')),
+        );
+
+        await expect(
+          subclusterManager.launchSubcluster(config),
+        ).rejects.toThrow('bootstrap threw');
+
+        expect(mockKernelStore.deleteSubcluster).toHaveBeenCalledWith('s1');
+      });
+    });
   });
 
   describe('terminateSubcluster', () => {
diff --git a/packages/ocap-kernel/src/vats/VatManager.test.ts b/packages/ocap-kernel/src/vats/VatManager.test.ts
index eb4318af8..e37a75233 100644
--- a/packages/ocap-kernel/src/vats/VatManager.test.ts
+++ b/packages/ocap-kernel/src/vats/VatManager.test.ts
@@ -171,6 +171,49 @@ describe('VatManager', () => {
       );
       expect(kref).toBe('ko1');
     });
+
+    // #564: a vat that fails to launch (e.g. its `buildRootObject` throws,
+    // surfacing from `VatHandle.make`) must be attributed to the specific vat
+    // by both its kernel id and its ClusterConfig name, with the original
+    // error preserved as the cause.
+    it('attributes a launch failure to the vat by id and config name', async () => {
+      const config = createMockVatConfig();
+      const cause = new Error(
+        'Failed to initialize vat v1: buildRootObject threw',
+      );
+      makeVatHandleMock.mockRejectedValueOnce(cause);
+
+      await expect(vatManager.launchVat(config, 'bob', 's1')).rejects.toThrow(
+        'Failed to launch vat v1 (bob)',
+      );
+
+      // Downstream setup is skipped once the launch fails.
+      expect(mockKernelStore.initEndpoint).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(mockKernelStore.setVatConfig).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    it('preserves the original error as the cause of a launch failure', async () => {
+      const config = createMockVatConfig();
+      const cause = new Error('buildRootObject threw');
+      makeVatHandleMock.mockRejectedValueOnce(cause);
+
+      const error = await vatManager
+        .launchVat(config, 'bob', 's1')
+        .catch((reason: unknown) => reason);
+
+      expect((error as Error).cause).toBe(cause);
+    });
+
+    it('omits the parenthetical when launched without a vat name', async () => {
+      const config = createMockVatConfig();
+      makeVatHandleMock.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('boom'));
+
+      const error = await vatManager
+        .launchVat(config)
+        .catch((reason: unknown) => reason);
+
+      expect((error as Error).message).toBe('Failed to launch vat v1');
+    });
   });
 
   describe('runVat', () => {
diff --git a/packages/ocap-kernel/src/vats/VatManager.ts b/packages/ocap-kernel/src/vats/VatManager.ts
index 700176f72..96aeab780 100644
--- a/packages/ocap-kernel/src/vats/VatManager.ts
+++ b/packages/ocap-kernel/src/vats/VatManager.ts
@@ -115,7 +115,15 @@ export class VatManager {
     if (subclusterId) {
       this.#kernelStore.addSubclusterVat(subclusterId, vatName, vatId);
     }
-    await this.runVat(vatId, vatConfig);
+    try {
+      await this.runVat(vatId, vatConfig);
+    } catch (error) {
+      // Attribute the failure (e.g. a vat whose `buildRootObject` throws) to
+      // the specific vat by both its kernel id and its ClusterConfig name, so
+      // the caller reports which vat failed rather than an opaque error.
+      const label = vatName ? `${vatId} (${vatName})` : vatId;
+      throw new Error(`Failed to launch vat ${label}`, { cause: error });
+    }
     this.#kernelStore.initEndpoint(vatId);
     const rootRef = this.#kernelStore.exportFromEndpoint(
       vatId,