Russia grounds Proton space rockets because of faulty engines

Russia has grounded all Proton-M rockets for 3 1/2 months because of flaws in the engines, Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin announced. Last December, an unmanned Soyuz-U cargo ship carrying supplies for the International Space Station broke up in the atmosphere over Siberia about six minutes after it left the launchpad. Destroyed were 2.6 tons of food, fuel and other supplies. Some important components in the second and third stages of the rocket may have been switched out by workers during the construction process at a plant in Voronezh, which builds the Proton-M and Soyuz rocket engines, according to a report. More

(Source: UPI - Jan 30)