Earlier this week, the Republic of Kazakhstan demanded the Russian space agency suspended all launches from the Baikonur site until Russian officials determine the cause of Mondays failed Proton rocket launch. The second stage of the rocket exploded several minutes after launch, spreading debris over a wide area of northern Kazakhstan.

A Mir resupply mission is scheduled for launch July 14. It will deliver fuel, food, water, and an important navigational computer to the aging space station. Mir is running low on fuel it needs to maintain its orbit. If the resupply vessel is not sent to Mir on schedule, the orbit could deteriorate, and astronauts might have to abandon due to lack of provisions.

But Kairat Umarov, minister counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Washington suggested that the resupply mission should not be affected. "We want to ensure that nothing like this happens again," Umarov said in an interview with space.com today. "I think the Russian side will try to get clarification (about the cause of the rocket explosion) as soon as possible," then it can continue its launches.

In a press conference earlier today in Moscow, Russia announced the formation of a commission to study the Proton rocket failure. That commission has been ordered to form a preliminary report by July 19.

The government of Kazakhstan has convened a commission to evaluate the ecological, financial, and material impacts of the explosion. Umarov said the initial damage appears to be contamination from highly-toxic fuel that rained over some areas beneath the explosion. He said no one was hurt, although a 440-lb. piece of the rocket narrowly missed a house in one Kazakh village.