Cosmotorg at Baikonur

The amount of damage from the fallen Proton will be determined by the end of the year

Russia and Kazakhstan continue to haggle over the amount of damage caused by the Proton-M rocket that fell near Dzhezkazgan. The “injured party,” which Kazakhstan considers itself to be in this situation, has completed its investigation, but insurance companies have demanded the right to make their own calculations, so as not to diverge in figures from government commissions. The exact amount of payments should be determined by the end of the year. “We have set the task of resolving all issues related to determining the damage by the first of December and in 2007 completing work on paying compensation for everything related to the liquidation of the consequences of the accident,” RIA Novosti quotes the words of the Minister of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan Viktor Khrapunov.

Let us recall that the Russian Proton-M rocket, launched from Baikonur with a Japanese satellite on board, fell in the Ulytau district of the Karaganda region, 40 kilometers southwest of the city of Dzhezkazgan, in the second minute of the flight. After the crash, 119 rocket fragments were found, and a crater with a diameter of 45 meters and a depth of 20 meters was formed at the crash site. However, the main complaint of the Kazakh authorities is “heptyl rain”: extremely toxic fuel spilled from the rocket’s fuel tank into the Ulytau region. The damage from this “rain,” according to the preliminary estimate of the Republic’s Minister of Emergency Situations, amounted to $75 million. But the amount may change.

The head of Roscosmos, Anatoly Perminov, also believes that “the economic damage needs to be rechecked.” However, Mr. Perminov assured that the Russian side “has no ulterior motives about not paying anything, including economic damage from the fall of Proton.” It is obvious that the Russian side is interested in quickly sorting out compensation. After all, after the emergency, Kazakhstan “paralyzed” the launches of the most “popular” Russian heavy rocket “Proton-M”, imposing a moratorium on flights of carriers of this type until the investigation into the causes of the disaster was completed. Meanwhile, the next launch of Proton was planned by the Russian agency for December 25.

At the same time, Mr. Perminov does not believe that the Kazakh side intends to blackmail partners, seeking increased payments. “The Russian government commission does not link payments for damage from the Proton-M accident and the resumption of Proton launches from Baikonur,” the head of Roscosmos said yesterday at a press conference in Astana. -- According to bilateral agreements, a necessary condition for the resumption of missile launches is to identify the causes that led to the accident and take measures to prevent technical malfunctions. We have already done this." As Mr. Perminov explained, the cause of the fall “was an abnormal separation of the first and second stages due to damage to the control cable.” As predicted earlier, the explosive bolts turned out to be faulty, the failure of which led to the engine shutdown. “We have developed a methodology to prevent such a malfunction in the future,” the head of Roscosmos tried to appease the Kazakh side.

The results of the work will be demonstrated to the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Masimov, who will visit Baikonur today. It is expected that the prime minister should be shown the launch pad and the technical complex of the Proton launch vehicles and prove that preventive work after the accident was carried out in full. Roscosmos hopes that after this the Kazakh authorities will make a decision to resume flights.

Kirill MELNIKOV