06.04.2007 Kazakhstan, Baikonur.
"Souz TMA-10" on a launching pad of the cosmodrome Baikonur.
Photo: Dmitry Kostyukov
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Kazakhstan Terminates Joint Space Project with Russia
Kazakhstan has decided to close Ishim joint space project with Russia, Interfax reported. Creation of a new aerospace rocket complex will be halted due to economic unreasonableness.
The idea was to create Ishim as a complex for launching small aerospace vehicles. It was to be based on MiG-31 planes capable of lifting a small rocket. Benefiting from its own engine, the rocket would separate from the plane at the scheduled altitude, ascend higher and orbit a space vehicle in the last effort.
The government of Kazakhstan and Moscow Thermotechniques Insitute concluded the respective agreement in November 2005. Later on, however, Kazakhstan reasoned it wouldn’t profit very much from the project and decided to halt it. It was the National Space Agency of Kazakhstan, Kazkosmos, that initiated the termination due to poor marketing elaboration and impossibility of approaching the market and despite that the project was “beautiful in engineering terms.”
Kazakhstan’s PM Karim Masimov backed up Kazkosmos and ordered to take its position into account when deciding on Ishim’s funding.
Apart from Ishim, Kazakhstan is developing one more rocket and space project – Baiterek.
www.kommersant.com
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