MOSCOW, May 19 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Finance Ministry has proposed the allocation of 1.7 billion rubles ($50 million) in 2014 for additional insurance for spacecraft launches.
According to amendments to the 2014-2016 federal budget released by the state database of legal initiatives on Monday, the additional insurance will be financed through a redistribution in military funding.
The initiative follows a failed launch of a Proton-M rocket on Friday, which resulted in the loss of the advanced Ekspress-AM4R telecoms satellite.
The upper stage and its payload burned up in the atmosphere above China after an unspecified malfunction, with no debris reaching Earth.
The rocket was insured for 7.8 billion rubles ($224 million). The insurance company said it would decide on the payment in mid-July.
