Russian Proton-M missile crashes in Siberia

The Russian space agency Roscosmos seems to have to deal with another setback after it seems that the launch of a Proton-M rocket has failed. Some time after takeoff, something went wrong, causing the rocket to crash in Siberia.

Russia’s state news agency Tass reports that an “emergency” occurred around 08:47 Moscow time with the Proton-M rocket launched shortly before from the Baykonur space base in Kazakhstan. Just before the rocket was supposed to release its payload, a Mexican satellite, something went wrong. What exactly went wrong is not yet clear, but it seems that the missile should be considered lost.

According to the Russian authorities, parts of the missile ended up in southeastern Siberia. It concerns the area around Chita, a city north of the border with Kazakhstan. The local authorities are said to have been informed, but it is still unclear whether there was any real danger to residents: the area is very sparsely populated.

It is the second setback for Russian space travel in a short time. Recently, a Progress space capsule that was supposed to carry supplies to the International Space Station crashed and burned up in the atmosphere. This also means that the astronauts on the International Space Station will have to stay there longer as upcoming flights have been postponed. The problem with the Proton-M will probably also delay future flights.