Medvedev demands those responsible for failed Soyuz rocket launch be punished

No insurance payments will cover the damage after the unsuccessful launch of the Soyuz-2.1B rocket with satellites from the Vostochny space center on November 29, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday. He said those responsible should be punished and the situation thoroughly analyzed. The Fregat booster carrying 19 satellites may have been lost due to a failure in the equipment responsible for enhancing the accuracy of orbiting space satellites, TASS said, citing a source in the space rocket industry. Medvedev said Roscosmos is investigating the incident, which he described also as a “reputation problem” for the space industry.