The concerns of the Kazaks appear to be primarily political rather than driven by safety

Published: 11/11/1999

The latest Proton crash, which occurred on 27th October, has, not surprisingly prompted a fresh round of political point scoring over Russia by Kazakhstan. The cries of “foul” must surely fall on increasingly cynical ears. The fact is that the Kazakhstan government feels cheated by the 20-year leasing agreement with Moscow on the Baikonur launching site. The $115m annual rental is currently used to offset the enormous state debt owed by Kazakhstan to Russia. Since the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Kazakhstan has seized every possible opportunity to pressure Russia into a more immediately lucrative arrangement. Threats to close Baikonur have been made and launch bans imposed at every twist and turn of this rather farcical saga, together with calls for financial compensation. In May 1999, the Kazakh Foreign Affairs Ministry called for a “critical assessment” of agreements signed between Altana and Moscow on the Baikonur site (www.concise.org.19th May 1999). The most recent crashes, in July and October this year, have fuelled a fresh round of bitter argument. Kazakhstan's charges of environmental damage seem exaggerated. The highly toxic components of the rocket fuel will almost certainly have burnt out before reaching the ground. Damage from the July incident was minor, in spite of loud cries of protest. If it is confirmed that last month's crash was caused by the same defect, as is suspected, the latest political furore seems yet another over-reaction. Rocket launches are intrinsically risky. In this context, the Proton has proved itself to be remarkably reliable, with a history of only three incidents over the last ten years attributable to the launch vehicle itself. Now, Nurlan Utembaev, Deputy Head of Kazkhstan's National Space Committee has fanned the flames by suggesting that the present temporary ban may delay the launch, scheduled for December or January, of a module that is to form part of the new international space station. According to Meirbek Moldabekov, Director of Kazakhstan's Space Agency, no Proton launches will be allowed before February or March 2000. Not to be outdone by such negative assertions, Erlan Idrisov, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister, has reiterated earlier calls for “substantial” financial compensation. The head of the Russian Aerospace Agency, Yuri Koptev however, has again said that he expects that the ban will be lifted after Russian-Kazakhstan talks on November 17th and 18th. He optimistically also expects that the Kazaks will agree to a procedure covering future accidents and the thorny issue of compensation. Koptev, according to Nezavisimaya Gazeta, is of the view that the crashes were probably caused by the malfunction of the second stage engine due to their poor assembly. The reason for this view being that both the engines powering the ill fated Protons, came from the same batch produced after a long break in manufacture at the producing plant.

Article ID: 1072