MOSCOW. May 22 (Interfax-AVN) - A defense satellite is scheduled to be launched by a Proton-M rocket from Baikonur in mid-summer. This will be the first Proton mission after the May 16 accident, a source in the space industry told Interfax-AVN.
"A tentative schedule of Proton-M missions after the May 16 accident is being drawn up. The first mission may be accomplished from Baikonur in the middle of July. A Proton-M rocket will be carrying the Russian Defense Ministry's payload," the source said.
Before the accident, Proton-M rockets had been expected to launch the British telecommunications satellite Inmarsat-3F5 on May 29 and the Turkish telecommunications satellite TurkSat on June 30.
A Proton-M rocket with a Briz-M upper stage and the MexSat-1 Mexican communication satellite onboard blasted off from Baikonur in the morning of May 16. The engine of the rocket's upper stage shut down during the 498th second of the flight, reportedly above the Transbaikal territory.
The Roscosmos press service said that the Proton-M contingency occurred at an altitude of 161 kilometers. "The upper stage, the booster and the satellite practically burned up in the atmosphere," it said.