Siberian shepherd sues Roscosmos over rocket debris

A villager in southwest Siberia is to take legal action against Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, after a rocket fragment fell on his land, a local administration official said on Tuesday.

Boris Urmatov, a shepherd in the Republic of Altai, filed a lawsuit after he was refused compensation when a three-and-a-half-meter (11 ft) fragment from a Proton-M carrier rocket, launched from the Baikonur Space Center, fell near his house on February 5.

Representatives from Roscosmos initially agreed to pay 100,000 rubles (about $3,600) during a visit to Altai in November, but later decided that the shepherd must substantiate his claim in court.

According to different reports, Urmatov had previously requested between 500,000 ($18,000) and one million rubles ($36,000) in compensation. The official said that there was no information on how much Urmatov would seek from the court.

In April, two villagers sued Ros­cosmos after rocket parts fell on their property, which is located outside an area designated for falling debris. The local authorities have sent a letter to the space agency requesting it take preventative measures to avoid rocket fragments falling in populated areas in the future.

A second incident occurred on March 11 when a small fragment from another Proton rocket landed in a village in the Altai Republic destroying a shed roof.

The Altai Republic has been used as a "falling field" for debris from rockets launched from the Baikonur space center, leased from Kazakhstan, for more than 40 years. Experts estimate that about 2.5 metric tons of "space waste" has fallen in unpopulated areas of the republic during this period.

Source: Moscow News

Our thanks to Andy, G0SFJ for alerting us to this item