Kazakh Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov will visit Russia’s rocket and space corporation, Energia, an Energia spokeswoman Yelena Radchuk told Itar-Tass on Saturday.
“The aim of Akhmetov’s visit to the enterprise is to consider and draft proposals on cooperation in satellite communications, remote sensing, manned spacecraft and others,” she emphasised.
Energia and the Kazakh national company, Kazcosmos, signed a protocol on future joint projects in September. The projects envisage the production of satellites for various purposes.
According to Energia president Nikolai Sevastyanov, Energia will produce communication satellites for Kazakhstan based on the universal Yamal space platform, and remote sensing satellites based on the BelKA satellite platform.
“We are planning to launch the first national Belarussian satellite in March 2006, and then we will produce remote sensing satellites based on the BelKA platform for Kazakhstan,” Sevastyanov said.
Kazakh research satellites are planned to be produced on the Yamal platform. “Yamal is a new promising platform with a long service life,” Sevastyanov remarked.
A joint design bureau is planned to be created at the Baikonur spaceport. According to Sevastyanov, Russian former military specialists will be recruited in the design bureau and will stay in the city after the withdrawal of the Russian Space Troops. A joint enterprise will be set up for integration of all bilateral projects.
Kazakh partners “want to work jointly in manned spacecraft programmes.” “We are having talks with them for their possible involvement in projects of promising manned spacecraft and flights to the International Space Station,” the Energia president indicated.
