Russia’s Proton-M rocket crashes shortly after launch

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia’s Proton-M rocket carrying three additional satellites for its Glonass global positioning and navigation network fell to ground shortly after launch early on Tuesday, July 2, from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, according to RIA Novosti.

The launch was broadcast live by the Rossyia 24 television.

“There was an accident during the Proton-M launch. The rocket fell and exploded on the territory of the launch site,” a spokesman for Russia’s Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said.

“An investigation commission headed by Roscosmos deputy head Alexander Lopatin has been set up,” the spokesman said.

A source in the Russian space industry earlier told RIA Novosti that preliminary conclusions about the possible causes of the failed launch could be ready in two-three days, but speculated that it was most likely a technical problem with the ill-fated DM-3 booster.

The source also said the launches from the Baikonur space center will be most likely suspended for the next 2-3 months as the area was contaminated by about 200 metric tons of toxic rocket fuel. It was the second unsuccessful launch of a Proton-M carrier rocket with the DM-03 booster in the past three years.

Russia lost three Glonass satellites in December 2010 when a Proton-M veered off course and crashed in the Pacific Ocean. The rocket was also equipped with a DM-3 booster, designed and manufactured by the Energia space corporation.

A state investigation commission later concluded that Energia experts miscalculated how much fuel was needed for the DM-3 rocket booster. As a result, the amount of oxidant exceeded the norm by 1-1.5 tons and excessive weight prevented the Proton-M rocket from putting the satellites into their calculated orbit.