Kazakhstan wants $85m for rocket disaster
November 25, 2013
By Chris Forrester
A failed Proton-M rocket which exploded seconds after lift-off caused $85 million of damage, say Kazakh officials at the Baikonur launch site. A bill has been submitted to the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), said the Kazakhstan Ministry of the Environment & Water in a statement. The rocket was carrying 600 tons of highly toxic heptyl rocket fuel
The Baikonur cosmodrome is the largest space-launch complex in the world, and as well as being the base from which Yuri Gagarin and the other space pioneers lifted off, is also home to many of Russia’s ballistic missile silos.
Russia rents the 100 km wide site and has a lease on the complex until 2050. Russia pays the Kazakhs $115 million annually in lease payments.