Russian Proton Rocket Crashes At Baikonur
Russia's Proton rocket crashed immediately after lifting off from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Monday. Around an hour after the accident, a Russian Vesti 24 TV channel reported that Kazakh authorities had considered evacuating population from the area around the crash site due to a possible danger from toxic propellants onboard the rocket.

According to the local Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency, the launch vehicle crashed one kilometer from the launch complex. The crash released 600 tons of toxic fuel at the Baikonur facility that Russia rents from Kazakhstan.

But Tuesday's disaster should not affect trips made by manned Russian spacecraft to the International Space Station, according to NASA officials. Russian Soyuz rockets have been used to transport astronauts to the International Space Station, particularly since the decommissioning of the U.S. space shuttle fleet in 2011, reports the "LOS ANGELES TIMES". "The Proton rocket is a very different design than the Soyuz rocket, and we expect no impact to Soyuz launches," William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, said in a statement.