Russia may cease funding Baikonur Cosmodrome
Russian Finance Ministry plans to stop funding Baikonur
Cosmodrome located in Kazakhstan as of 2016, Russian Izvestia
newspaper reported.
The financing of space industry in the draft federal budget for
2016-2018 sharply decreased, a source in the Russian Federal Space
Agency told Izvestia.
Russian Center for Operation of Space Ground-Based Infrastructure
which operates the cosmodrome confirmed the information about the
problems in budget plans concerning Baikonur.
In the previous versions of the draft budget the subsidies for
Baikonur maintenance in 2016 were planned at 2.5 billion rubles,
Sergey Lazarev, CEO of the Center for Operation of Space
Ground-Based Infrastructure said. The last draft budget envisages
zero subsidies.
"In fact, this means the termination of funding entire groups of
specialists at our main spaceport," he said.
The Finance Ministry said that all the investments planned for
Baikonur will be directed to Vostochny Cosmodrome which is under
construction on Russian territory, Lazarev said.
The Baikonur Cosmodrome is the world's first and largest
operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert
steppe of Kazakhstan. It is leased by the Kazakh government to
Russia (currently until 2050). Under the current Russian space
program, Baikonur remains a busy space port, with numerous
commercial, military and scientific missions being launched
annually.
Vostochny Cosmodrome is planned to be launched in 2015 in the
Russian Far East.