MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia safely launched a Proton rocket on Monday from the Baikonur space base in Kazakhstan, the first launch since a similar rocket exploded after liftoff two months ago, scattering toxic debris across the Kazakh steppe.
Interfax news agency said the Proton lifted off at 1636 GMT on Monday, carrying two Russian communications satellites.
The launch signalled an end to a row that had broken out between Russia and Kazakhstan after the July 5 explosion.
Kazakhstan first banned all Russian launches from Baikonur, then only launches of Protons, the main work horses in the Russian rocket arsenal.
The quarrel was finally settled after Moscow paid compensation for the crash and overdue rent for Baikonur, the former Soviet cosmodrome, which ended up in independent Kazakhstan after the Soviet Union split in 1991.
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