Soyuz Spacecraft Loss: Russian Prosecutors Claim Management and Workers Negligent

The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office blames the loss of the Express-AM4 telecommunications satellite Aug. 18 and the Progress M-12M space freighter six days later on employee negligence.

The Prosecution Office has proposed introducing criminal punishment for those found guilty of causing serious damage to the country’s space industry, the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency reported Oct. 18.

“Both incidents were the result of negligence by employees of state space industry enterprises subordinate to [Russian space agency] Roscosmos, [negligence] during control procedures, as well as the absence of proper control by Roscosmos of decision-making by authorised persons,” Marina Gridneva, spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office, said.

In addition to possible criminal punishment, the Prosecutor General’s Office is demanding fines and reprimands for those responsible for the loss of the spacecraft.