Support The Moscow Times!

Proton-M Launched After String of Failures

A Proton-M rocket carrying a military satellite was successfully launched from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome early Wednesday, an army spokesman said, Interfax? reported.

It was the first launch of the Proton-M — Russia's main rocket for carrying satellites — since Aug. 18, when a malfunction in the rocket's booster stage sent a $265 million communications satellite into the wrong orbit.? 

Last month's botched launch was one of a series of spacecraft-related incidents over the past nine months that have raised concerns about Russia's space industry.

Three Glonass-M navigation satellites launched from the Kazakh-based Baikonur Cosmodrome plummeted into the Pacific in December due to a programming error. Military satellite Geo-IK2, which blasted off from the Plesetsk pad in February, ended up in the wrong orbit after a booster failed.

On Aug. 24, the upper-stage motor on an unmanned Progress M-12M supply ship bound for the International Space Station malfunctioned, sending the spacecraft crashing back to Earth. Pieces of its debris were recovered weeks later in the Altai Mountains in Central Asia.

That accident sent jitters through the space community because the Soyuz rocket that ferries astronauts to the station uses a similar upper-stage motor.

Since NASA retired its space shuttle in July, Soyuz ships have been the sole means for crew members to reach — and leave — the station. The American space agency earmarked $1.6 billion to develop space taxis as alternative to the Russian rockets.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more