Another Russian rocket crashes, this one a Proton-M carrying a Mexican satellite. The rocket crashed in Siberia shortly after lifting off at Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Roscosmos claims that the malfunction caused the accident. Roscosmos has launched an investigation. Roscosmos spokeswoman said that “an emergency occurred.” “The broadcast has ended.” Russia’s Proton M rocket was plagued with issues. Image: Wikimedia. Russia’s TASS news agency stated that although the launch was originally scheduled for 29April, it was rescheduled at Boeing’s request. TASS stated that Boeing made the Mexican satellite and needed additional time to inspect the equipment. One year ago, the Express-AM4R communications satellite was carried by a Proton-M rocket carrier. It was launched from Baikonur. The dense atmosphere melted it. Roscosmos Director Irina Zubareva told TASS that the issue was due to an ‘abnormal circumstance’. There have been many failures over the last year. Russian news agencies report that authorities are searching eastern Siberia for the third stage Proton-M rocket. It is thought to have crashed close to the Chinese or Mongolian borders. Investigators must find out the fate of the toxic fuel that the rocket carried, as it may have burst upon impact. According to Interfax, unnamed sources claimed that this crash may result in all future Proton-M launch suspensions. This includes the one for June which was scheduled for a British satellite. MexSat-1 is the fourth generation Mexican satellite designed by Boeing. The satellite was intended to serve national security and civil humanitarian programs. Moscow’s Khrunichev Center Corporation designed and produced the Proton M rocket. Spaceflights from the International Space Station are currently on hold Spaceflights between and to the International Space Station (ISS) (International Space Station), have been put on hold following last month’s failure of Progress 59, which was a cargo vessel. Soon after its launch, the freighter lost control and eventually crashed into Earth’s atmosphere. According to the Russian Space Agency, problems with Soyuz’s rocket caused the freighter’s failure. A preliminary investigation revealed that the problem occurred when Progress 59, separated from Soyuz’s third stage too soon.
