Wired. No Cash for Rocket Crash
Oscar S. Cisneros
12:30 p.m. 9.Jul.99.PDT
The Russian Proton rocket that crashed
over Kazakhstan on Monday carried only
payload insurance, leaving no liability
coverage to pay for any cleanup costs
associated with the toxic fuel and
smoldering rocket chunks it left on the
ground.
"We hear that enough chunks fell that
undoubtedly there's going to be some
kind of cleanup and repair effort," said
Alden Richards, CEO of Space Machine
Advisors, a company that provides
insurance and consulting services for
space missions. "I know that there was
coverage on it for US$14 million, and
that's not much."
Because Russia is essentially a landlocked
country, its rocket launches take place
over land, exposing citizens to dangers
from mishaps. This has created tension
between the state and its citizens, who
are concerned for their safety and the
environment.
See also: Russian Launch Site in Jeopardy
The Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan,
where the Proton rocket was launched,
has become a favorite place for Western
companies to launch their payloads into
space. International Launch Services, a
joint venture between Lockheed-Martin
and several Russian companies, is one of
the companies selling Baikonur-based
launches, said ILS spokeswoman Julie
Andrews.
ILS typically insures only the payload of
its flights, leaving the liability coverage to
the agencies in charge of the launch, she
said.
"We don't make insurance arrangements
for the mission only because we don't
launch the rocket," Andrews said. "That's
the function of the builder of the Proton,
Khrunichev."
Russian space officials who will likely
share the liability from the rocket crash
could not be reached for comment.
David Martin of the Siberia Wilderness
Campaign, a nonprofit group that
monitors environmental threats around
the Pacific Rim, said that the insurance
arrangements are irresponsible given the
dangers involved.
"There may not be a lot of physical
damage, but that fuel is incredibly toxic,"
he said. "It's my understanding that if
you're in direct contact with it you can
die instantly."
The Cosmodrome launch trajectory is
directly over protected wilderness areas.
Martin reported that 118 rocket parts
have fallen there in recent years, and
points to studies showing that many
children near the launch site are born
with jaundice, a disease that causes
yellowing of the skin.
"At a minimum, they need to revamp their
launch procedures and certainly the
insurance issue so that there's some
money if there's an accident," Martin
said, adding that the Proton rocket
carries 66 tons of toxic fuel.
But Richards said that though the impetus
may not come from insurers, there may
indeed be a way to clean up the holes
and smoking pieces of debris.
"There are collectors around that would
love to have it," he said. "To me, it's in
the same category as meteorites -- it's a
cosmic object."
"I have a 30-pound meteorite in my office
and I'd love to have it matching with a
piece of smoking proton." |
