02.07 Russian Rocket Crashes Seconds After Launch, Toxic Fuel Alight
Updates Paragraph 9-12 with estimated damage and Rogozin comments.
MOSCOW, July 2 (RIA Novosti) A Russian Proton-M rocket carrying three Glonass satellites veered off course seconds after its launch from Kazakhstans Baikonur space center early Tuesday, crashing in a large fireball.
There was an accident during the Proton-M launch. The rocket fell and exploded on the territory of the launch site, a spokesman for Russias Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said.
There were no reported casualties, but officials said a cloud of poisonous smoke was generated by the rockets burning fuel and could spread across the local area. An emergency evacuation of personnel at the site was underway, according to Russian media reports.
The reasons for the crash were not immediately clear, but Kazakhstans Emergencies Ministry said a near instantaneous failure of the rockets first-stage engine was to blame.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered a governmental commission to be formed to look into the causes of the crash and present a list of officials responsible for the accident, said his press secretary, Natalya Timakova.
Medvedev also instructed Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin to draw up a list of measures to tighten oversight of the space sector and prevent such accidents in the future, Timakova said.
All Proton-M launches have been suspended until the commission completes its work, after which a new launch schedule will be drawn up, Khrunichev representative Alexander Bobrenyov said.
The next launch of a Proton-M rocket, set for July 20, was to have put into orbit the Astra 2-T satellite, he said.
Rogozin warned that heads would roll after the commission completed its work and more far-reaching measures would be taken on an organizational level.
The current shape of the space and rocket industry is unacceptable for further movement forward, he said.
The financial losses caused by the Proton-M crash with three Glonass satellites will be no less than 6 billion rubles ($200 million), a space industry source privy to the situation told RIA Novosti.
The losses from the previous [failed launch with a Briz-M booster] totaled 5.4 billion. Now I believe [the figure] will be higher. The costs of both the satellites and the Proton-M have increased since then, the source said.
It is the second unsuccessful launch of a Proton-M carrier rocket with Russia's flagship Glonass positioning system on board in the last three years, and is another setback for Moscows space program.
The blast-off, which took place from Baikonur at 8:38 a.m. local time, was broadcast live by Rossiya-24 television channel. Footage shows the rocket rolling while flying a wobbly arc, beginning to disintegrate as it catches fire and then slamming into the ground in a large ball of flame and black smoke. The whole flight lasted 17 seconds, according to Roscosmos.
