Russian Proton-M Satellite Rocket Crashes, Toxic Fuel Everywhere
Ryan Martin / 11 years ago
Technology isn’t always fun and games as the latest Russian rocket carrying three “GLONASS” navigation satellites came crashing to the ground after a failed take-off at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. During take off the rocket swerved to one side and in an attempt to correct itself ended up plummeting to the ground and disintegrating in mid air.
Footage of the crash, shown below, has spread like wildfire across Russia and Central Asia as there is fear of an ecological crisis as the rocket crashed with 600 tons of toxic propellants on board. While there have been no human fatalities there have certainly been economic ones as the “Rossiya24 TV Channel” suggests the failed crash will cost the Russian Space Industry somewhere around $200 million.
The entire area in the vicinity of the crash has been evacuated and the Kazakhstan emergency mninistry has warned of an ecological threat to the surrounding area.
Strangely though, this accident isn’t as uncommon as you might think. Russian Space agency sources stated that:
“We’ve had similar accidents at Baikonur before. After the area is cleaned up, launches will resume – in two-three months,”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ5__1PPgNQ[/youtube]
Image courtesy of Spaceflight101 (YouTube)
