Kazakhstan is currently the “most interested party” in the implementation of a trilateral Kazakh-Russian-Ukrainian project, to produce the ecologically safe Sodruzhestvo carrier rocket, said Meirbek Moldabekov, the Director of the aerospace committee at the Kazakh Ministry for Energy, Industry and Trade.
The production of the carrier rocket will be most profitable for Kazakhstan, he added. The rocket will be used to replace the Proton rocket, which will significantly reduce the environmental effects of aerospace activity in the region.
In addition, development of the Sodruzhestvo will allow for the use of idle facilities at Baikonur space center, that were earlier used for the Energia-Buran project.
According to Moldabekov, implementation of the project is being dragged out because neither Ukraine nor Russia has sufficient funds. Ukraine and Russia are currently looking for sources of finance for the project.
In addition, according to Kazakh specialists, the cost of the project has been undervalued and currently amounts to about $300 million rather than $170 million as annunced.
According to Moldabekov, despite the fact that implementation of the Sodruzhestvo project has been included in a joint Russian-Kazakh space program for 2000-2005, it is difficult to say when the project will begin.
