First stage engine failure could be behind Proton crash - Kazakh emergencies minister
ASTANA. July 2 (Interfax) - Kazakh Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Bozhko has tentatively blamed a malfunction of the first stage engine for Tuesday's crash of a Russian Proton-M launch vehicle over the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
"The preliminary information available suggests that the accident was caused by a malfunctioning engine of the first stage. The fuel caught fire. Some of the fuel fell to the ground and continued burning there. The rocket was carrying a total of 172 tonnes of heptyl plus the oxidizer," Bozhko said at a government session in Astana on Tuesday.
Russian specialists have already set up three chemical protection stations on the premises of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, he said.
"There is a need to increase environmental monitoring around the cosmodrome and track down any possible traces of the recent explosion," Bozhko said.
