Compensation of Proton-M crash damage taking way too long: Kazakhstan14 марта 2014, 12:24
Russia’s Proton-M carrier rocket crash. ©RIA Novosti
First Deputy Prime-Minister of Kazakhstan Bakhytzhan Sagintayev says that negotiation of compensation of the damages caused by the Proton-M carrier rocket crash in Kazakhstan is taking way too long, Tengrinews reports.
"Ecological problems are high on the agenda of Baikonur cosmodrome. Every launch of a carrier rocket creates social tensions among the local residents. Due to that we are considering the possibility of placing the Baikonur territory under the jurisdiction of the Ecology Code of Kazakhstan. We have calculated the amount of environmental damage caused by the crash a Proton-M carrier rocket last year. However, the decision on the jurisdiction of the Code has still not been made yet and the compensation of the damage has not been effected," First Deputy Prime-Minister of Kazakhstan Bakhytzhan Sagintayev said in a meeting of Kazcosmos, Kazakhstan space agency.
"We are closely watching the negotiation of the fine for Baikonur cosmodrome (for the crash of the Proton-M carrier rocket). We are claiming 13,690,747,305 tenge ($89.5 million) from Russia in damages, and now we are awaiting their response and constantly reminding them about it. The issue is pretty complicated, and we will be pressing our demands," Minister of Environment and Water Resources of Kazakhstan Nurlan Kapparov said a few days before.
Kapparov added that his Ministry was keeping in close contact with Roscosmos and confirmed that Russia had received Kazakhstan's claims related to the compensation of the Proton-M carrier rocket crash.
Russia’s Proton-M carrier rocket, equipped with a DM-3 booster, carrying three Glonass-M navigation satellites crashed right after the lift-off crashed right after the lift-off at Kazakhstan-based Baikonur cosmodrome on July 2, 2013.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Environment and Water Resources calculated a financial equivalent of the environmental damage caused by the Proton-M carrier rocket crash at Baikonur cosmodrome and sent the claims to Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos in October 2013. Later Russia said that the Roscosmos would makes its own investigation and evaluate the accuracy of the calculations.