14 DAY TRIAL // According to top Russian officials, the country will begin construction of a new and advanced spaceport in the Far East next years. The funds required for the project have already been approved.
The rocket launch site will be called the Vostochny Cosmodrome, and experts hope that construction will progress according to plan. If this happens, the facility could become operational by 2018.
Over the past few years, the Russian Federation has been investing in the development of a new family of rockets, and in new means of propulsion, among other space-related technologies.
In addition, it continues to support the production of Proton rockets, and Soyuz and Progress space capsules and rockets. With the announcement of the new project, the country again affirms its role as a leader in space sciences.
When the new spaceport will be complete, it will represent the first Russian Cosmodrome capable of providing the nation with the ability to send humans in orbit.
Until now, the Soviet Union and Russia conducted such spaceflights based out of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which is located in the independent country of Kazakhstan.
The Russians are leasing the land on which the renowned facility is located, which means that the long-term faith of the installation is as of this point unknown.
According to the head of the Russian Federal Space Agency (RosCosmos), Anatoly Perminov, all bureaucratic obstacles have been put behind, and everything is set so that construction can begin next year.
A RosCosmos press release shows that the top-ranking official made the announcement during a meeting of the space agency's Scientific and Technical Council.
The Vostochny Cosmodrome is now scheduled to be constructed in southeastern Russia, more precisely in the Amur region, Space reports.
The new facility is being designed so that it can support the launch of Rus-M delivery systems, the proposed rockets on which Russian engineers have been working for years.
These new machines will become the backbone of the nation's space program, as they are planned to carry the replacement of the venerable Soyuz spacecraft. The program is meant to ensure uninterrupted, independent Russian access to space.
Even Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin showed support for the project, allotting some $800 million for its construction this July. However, this sum is only a small part of the overall costs.