Russia, Kazakhstan to build commercial rocket
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-07 13:40

Russia and Kazakhstan have agreed a joint venture to build a commercial space rocket in Kazakhstan that should be operational by 2008, a Russian space agency official said.

The rocket will be built at Russia's Baikonur space base in Kazakhstan.

"We have established a joint venture to develop a new rocket, Baitarek, based on the Russian (military) rocket Angara," said General Anatoly Perminov of the Russian space agency Roskosmos.

He said the project would be financed by Kazakhstan.

"It will be used solely for civilian purposes," said Viatcheslav Davidenko, a Roskosmos spokesman.

"Russia will develop the two projects, Baitarek and Angara, simultaneously," he added.

The Baiterek project will cost up to 200 million dollars, another Roskosmos employee said on condition of anonymity.

The Angara project will mainly be used to put Russian military satellites in space and should replace the powerful rocket currently used, the Proton.

It is scheduled for completion in 2008 at the Plessetsk space station in Russia's northwest.

Unlike the Proton, which uses a toxic fuel, both Baitarek and Angara will be powered by a cleaner fuel mixture of liquid oxygen and kerosene.

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