First launch from “Baiterek” space complex scheduled for December 2023

The first launches from the “Baiterek” space rocket complex will be made in 2023, said Director General of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin. The project documentation was approved. Kazakhstan is responsible for the creation of ground infrastructure through modernization of the “Zenit-M” space rocket complex. Russia, in turn, develops launch vehicles that are planned to be launched from there. They intend to allocate almost US$855 million for this. Kazakhstan and Russia signed a contract to create the “Baiterek” space rocket complex in October 2020. It should ensure the launch of the “Souyz-5” launch vehicle and its possible modifications with a high level of environmental safety.

“They should complete this work at least three months before the launch, that is, by August 2023. They only have a year and a half to work. This is a very tight deadline. We will be able to make the first launch in December 2023 after all ground technological tests. It will be without a payload, with a weight and size model to test all systems. I think that we will start firing spacecraft from the second launch,” Rogozin said.

Translation by Saniya Sakenova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova