BAIKONUR. Oct 17 (Interfax-Kazakhstan) - The Tuesday crash of a Soyuz-U rocket will not affect cooperation between Russia and the European Space Agency.
David Southwood, the Agency's Director of Science, told the press in Baikonur on Thursday that accidents happened, but they will be optimistic and continue joint work. He said space exploration is a risky business.
Southwood visited the Baikonur cosmodrome to watch the launch of an Integral satellite. The satellite was launched on board a Proton-K rocket at 8:41 a.m. Moscow time (0441 GMT) on Thursday.
It was designed by Russian and European specialists to study the influence of X-rays on Earth.
Southwood described the launch as perfect.
He said he was pleased with the present-day cooperation with Russia and hoped for its further development.
Southwood said he would meet with head of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency Yuri Koptev on Thursday evening to discuss concrete aspects of bilateral cooperation, including that in scientific projects.
The Soyuz-U rocket booster with a Foton international satellite, incorporating European equipment, on board exploded during liftoff from the Plesetsk cosmodrome late on Tuesday. The accident killed one serviceman and wounded eight.