Azerbaijan, Baku, Sep. 30 /Trend E. Kosolapova/
Russia has launched the first Proton-M carrier rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome after the incident which took place there in early July, RIA Novosti reported on Monday with the reference to a Russian Federal Space Agency spokesperson.
"The Proton was launched on schedule at 1:38 Moscow time," the source said.
The carrier rocket carries the European communications satellite Astra 2E.
The Proton-M carrier rocket with three Glonass-M Russian navigation satellites crashed on July 2 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome one minute after take-off. The Emergency Commission investigating the incident concluded that the incident was provoked by incorrectly installed angular rate sensors.
The Baikonur Cosmodrome is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan. It is being leased by the Kazakh government to Russia (until 2050) and is managed jointly by the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Russian Space Forces. Under the current Russian space programme, Baikonur remains a busy space port with numerous commercial, military and scientific missions being launched annually.