Russian Spaceport to Begin Construction

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Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin announced that a new spaceport would begin construction, and that it would cost approximately 800 million dollars to build. It is expected to open in 2015, and will be geared towards a largely civilian clientele. This will be a major political security for Russia, which currently has to base its launches out of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which it rents. The location will be nearby the town of Uglegorsk, in the Far East Amur region of Russia, on the border of China. Anatoly Perminov, head of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, said that 30,000 workers would be required, and that the new spaceport would be smaller than the Baikonur Cosmodrome. According to Gen. Nikolai Abroskin, the Head of the Federal Service for the Production of Special Construction Work, there will be seven launch pads built, including two for manned missions and two for space freighters.

Of note is that the Vostochny (or, Eastern) Cosmodrome is in a strategic location for economic development and international programmes. The proximity to China and the Far East ...

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