Yikes! Glad G* is launching from Florida. A 440-pound chunk of debris slammed into the courtyard of a private house in Kazakhstan's Kar-Karalinsk district
Tuesday July 6 1:22 PM ET
Kazakhstan Halts Russian Space Launches
By Sujata Rao
ALMATY (Reuters) - Kazakhstan said Tuesday it was suspending rocket launches from its Baikonur cosmodrome following
the crash of a Russian telecommunications satellite, which spewed debris over the central Karaganda region.
''We have informed the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about our decision to stop launches from Baikonur until reasons for
the crash are fully identified and accident damage evaluated,'' Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said in a statement.
It did not say how long the ban would remain in effect.
The head of the Russian Khrunishev factory which built the crashed Proton rocket, Igor Dodin, told Reuters that he thought the
issue could be sorted out by the end of the month.
''Work is going on very actively right now,'' he told Reuters. ''I think we'll resolve the issue by the end of the month.''
''The question is not about banning flights. This (ban) exists only until the payment of damages and identification of the
reasons,'' he continued, ''In simple language it means: 'Guys, you made a mess. Clean up and pay.'''
A 440-pound chunk of debris slammed into the courtyard of a private house in Kazakhstan's Kar-Karalinsk district.
''Last night we watched as five or six explosions (filled) the sky soon after the launch,'' Amantai Khasenov, deputy mayor of
the district of Kar-Karalinsk near Karaganda, told Reuters.
No one was injured when the fragments crashed to earth. Khasenov said soil and water samples had been sent for tests to
Karaganda. Kazakhstan's Emergency Situations agency said no other parts had been found so far in the region.
Kazakhstan said it was setting up a special government commission to investigate the accident.
Russia's Itar-Tass news agency quoted sources at Russia's Megaruss insurance group as saying it would pay out $15 million if
the accident is recognized to have been covered.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said it had received the Kazakh diplomatic note but declined to comment. ''Baikonur is a serious
matter. I don't think they would just close it down like that,'' said Alexander Medvedchikov, deputy director of the Russian
Space Agency. ''But I have not seen official information about this.''
The Russian Proton-K heavy booster rocket was launched Monday evening but a malfunction detached the engine and parts of
the booster, causing them to crash onto the steppe. The satellite itself crashed in the remote Altai region of Siberia.
Baikanur, Moscow's main space launch facility, has been part of independent Kazakhstan since the breakup of the Soviet
Union. In 1994 the two countries signed an agreement allowing Russia to rent the facility for 20 years.
The Proton is the workhorse of the Russian space program, ferrying up commercial satellites -- a vital source of revenue for
Russia's cash strapped space program -- as well as crews to the Mir space station.
Baikanur is the planned launch site for vital parts of the $60 billion International Space Station, including the Russian-built main
living quarters, which is supposed to be launched in November.
Earlier Stories
Kazakhstan Suspends Russian Space Launches (July 6)
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