diff --git a/skyquake/plugins/launchpad/src/instantiate/instantiateStore.js b/skyquake/plugins/launchpad/src/instantiate/instantiateStore.js
index b673e3a..0d9e1b6 100644
--- a/skyquake/plugins/launchpad/src/instantiate/instantiateStore.js
+++ b/skyquake/plugins/launchpad/src/instantiate/instantiateStore.js
@@ -191,6 +191,9 @@
     }
     launchNSRError(data) {
         var msg = 'Something went wrong while trying to instantiate. Check the error logs for more information';
+        if(data) {
+            msg = data;
+        }
         if (data.error) {
             msg = data.error;
         }
diff --git a/skyquake/plugins/launchpad/src/instantiate/launchNetworkServiceSource.js b/skyquake/plugins/launchpad/src/instantiate/launchNetworkServiceSource.js
index 6c5daaa..d5c33c1 100644
--- a/skyquake/plugins/launchpad/src/instantiate/launchNetworkServiceSource.js
+++ b/skyquake/plugins/launchpad/src/instantiate/launchNetworkServiceSource.js
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@
           }).fail(function(xhr){
             //Authentication and the handling of fail states should be wrapped up into a connection class.
             Utils.checkAuthentication(xhr.status);
-            var error;
+            var error = null;
             if(xhr.responseText) {
               try {
                 error = JSON.parse(xhr.responseText);