Technology / Science
Russian rocket crashes in satellites launch
03 Jul 2013 at 10:42hrs | Views
MOSCOW - A Proton-M rocket crashed one minute after blasting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Russia's federal space agency Roscosmos said Tuesday.
Live TV broadcast showed that the rocket, carrying three Glonass-M satellites, changed its flight direction a few seconds after takeoff, falling and exploding over the space center.
Specialists were immediately evacuated from launch pads nearby, as a toxic cloud generated by the rocket fuel appeared over the site.
"There was an accident during the Proton-M launch. The rocket fell and exploded on the territory of the launch site," a Roscosmos spokesman said, adding an investigation commission has been set up.
Live TV broadcast showed that the rocket, carrying three Glonass-M satellites, changed its flight direction a few seconds after takeoff, falling and exploding over the space center.
Specialists were immediately evacuated from launch pads nearby, as a toxic cloud generated by the rocket fuel appeared over the site.
"There was an accident during the Proton-M launch. The rocket fell and exploded on the territory of the launch site," a Roscosmos spokesman said, adding an investigation commission has been set up.
Source - Xinhua
