What does that little tag on the bottom right corner of the rocket say? Made in China?
Russia's Proton rockets were manufactured by ГКНПЦ им. М. В. Хру́ничева (Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Centre) in Moscow. The first was flown in 1965. This launch will be the 411th of a Proton. Of the previous 410 launches, 363 were successes and 47 were failures. They are launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which is now an independent nation but was part of the Soviet Union in 1965. However, the Kazakhs allow the Russians to launch their Proton rockets from Baikonur Cosmodrome, which is leased to the Russian government until 2050. Sputnik 1, the world's first satellite, was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in 1957, as well as Vostok 1, the first manned spacecraft, in 1961.
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