January 10, 2014

RIA Novosti – Kazakhstan wants a permanent Russian presence at the Baikonur space center, the head of its space program said on Thursday, after years of argument between Moscow and Astana over Russia’s use of the site.

“Neither I nor any sane person in Kazakhstan wants Russia to leave Baikonur. We are partners and allies and at this level of international cooperation it’s normal to have joint strategic projects,” Talgat Musabaev said in an interview published Thursday by the Izvestia newspaper.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last month that the leaders of the two countries had signed a three-year roadmap on the cooperative use of Baikonur.

Musabaev, a former cosmonaut, said if Russia was to leave Baikonur, Kazakhstan would “do everything possible to ensure Baikonur remains a gateway to space.”

He claimed Russian resistance to launches of Ukrainian-made Dnepr and Zenit rockets from Baikonur by Kazakhstan and its partners had relaxed following the appointment of Oleg Ostapenko as head of the Russian space agency Roscomos in October.

The newly-signed roadmap with Russia will hand ownership of the new Baiterek launch pad for the Zenit rocket to Kazakhstan, and requires recommendations be made to reduce the ecological impact of Russian heavy-lift Proton rocket launches beginning in 2016, he added.

Proton launches were suspended for three months following the explosion of one of the rockets shortly after liftoff in July that rained blazing, highly toxic propellants on the Kazakh countryside.

Russia is currently building the Vostochny space center in the Far Eastern Amur region, expected to open in 2018, to reduce its dependence on the Baikonur facility, which it leases from Kazakhstan for $115 million annually.

More from this category:
March 6, 2020

Ahead of the ISS-63 crews are complex examination exercises. Before cosmonauts and astronauts need to undergo a typical flight day training. This is a “test…

full story
February 12, 2016

Proton-M booster to launch space devices in the framework of Russian-European ExoMars-2016 research mission was delivered to Baikonur spaceport. “Proton-M booster designated to launch Schiaparelli…

full story
September 14, 2020

The next spacewalk of Russian cosmonauts from the International Space Station, which is planned before the end of 2020, will be performed from the new…

full story
June 17, 2022

Science hardware Icarus, installed on the Russian Segment of the International Space Station as part of the Uragan space experiment developed by RSC Energia (forms…

full story
April 1, 2020

At Baikonur Cosmodrome the preparation of the “Soyuz MS-16” manned spacecraft continues for launch on April 9, 2020 under the program of the 62nd and…

full story
November 1, 2013

The next launch of Russian-Ukrainian carrier rocket “Dnepr”, based on intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) RS-20 (classified by NATO as the SS-18 Satan), will take place…

full story
November 25, 2015

New ISS crew period of work onboard the station was increased from 6 to 7 months due to the flight program adjustment, – crew commander…

full story
January 27, 2015

Preparation works for Proton-M with Inmarsat-5F2 satellite launch are under way at Baikonur. Yesterday, January 26, 2015,  in 92A-50 integration building of Baikonur spaceport rocket…

full story